February 1, 2025 / 4:00pm - 5:00pm

Ear Pollen Pt. 2

featuring Elliott Sharp

Special Event
Performance

The Ear Pollen Series started at Gallery 378 in 2020. Klimchak curated the monthly performances by selecting 3-5 musicians to perform a totally improvised concert together. The series was just getting started when Covid hit and ended it.

At Atlanta Contemporary, Klimchak has revived the series in a minimalist compact form while retaining the improvised format. For the Ear Pollen Series, Pt 2, Klimchak is performing in a series of duets each month with a different partner and featuring different instruments. 

In many ways, the duet is the perfect vehicle for improvisation, as it allows the performers to treat their playing as a form of conversation, introducing new ideas, batting those ideas back and forth, and taking them to new places to keep the dialog flowing. Part 2 becomes a 2 part conversation for the audience to witness and enjoy.

Bios

Klimchak

Klimchak is a composer known for his use of electronics & homebuilt instruments. His work has been seen in dance, theater & solo performances around the world. He regularly performs solo shows featuring the Don Buchla designed Marimba Lumina. Only about 100 of this very rare instrument were made. With the Marimba Lumina the percussionist is able to perform live music that would normally take at least 4 musicians. His multi-instrumental compositions are played with 4 separate mallets, six foot pedals and a breath controller. As added touches, his sets usually include 4 or 5 small percussion instruments, some chanting or tuvan throat singing and at least one solo on the theremin.

Elliott Sharp

Elliott Sharp is a composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, visual artist, and author who leads the projects Orchestra Carbon, SysOrk, Tectonics, and Terraplane. His compositional strategies have encompassed the use of fractal geometry, chaos theory, algorithms, genetic metaphors, and new techniques for graphic notation to yield work that catalyzes a synesthetic approach to music making as well as functioning as retinal art. In 2015, Sharp was awarded both the Berlin Prize and the Jahrespreis from der Deutscher Schallplatten Kritiks. In 2014, he received a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Fellowship from the Center for Transformative Media. He has been featured in the Darmstadt and Huddersfield festivals, New Music Stockholm, Au Printemps-Paris, Hessischer Rundfunk Klangbiennale, and the Venice Biennale. His book IrRational Music, a mix of memoir, cultural discussion, and music theory, was published in 2019. He is the subject of the documentary Doing The Don't and has been featured on NPR's All Things Considered. Sharp's composition Storm of the Eye, composed for violinist Hilary Hahn, appeared on her Grammy-winning album In 27 Pieces. His latest opera, Die Grösste Fuge, premiered in Bonn as part of Beethoven@250, and his opera Filiseti Mekidesi premiered at the RuhrTriennale in 2018. Sharp's collaborators have included Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan; pianist Cecil Taylor; Ensemble Modern; pop singer Debbie Harry; blues legends Hubert Sumlin and Pops Staples; Arditti, JACK, and Kronos quartets; jazz greats Jack Dejohnette and Sonny Sharrock; media artists Christian Marclay and Pierre Huyghe; Radio-Sinfonie Frankfurt; and Bachir Attar, leader of the Master Musicians Of Jajouka.

Location

Atrium, Lobby

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Upcoming Program Events

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September 27 / 10:00am Special Event

Somatic Sound: Contemporary Yoga

Lead by Sydney McCall

Register

This is more than just a yoga class—it's an exploration of rhythm, breath, and energy. As Sydney guides you through a mindful flow, while DJs shape the soundscape in real-time, creating a fully sensory, meditative environment designed to ground the body and expand the mind. Whether you're a seasoned yogi or just beginning your practice, Flow State invites you to embrace the process—investigate, explore, and move with intention. Bring your mat, an open mind, and get ready to vibe.

September 27 / 12:00pm Contemporary Talks

Artist Talk with Jiha Moon

Free

Join us for a conversation with Jiha Moon, acclaimed artist and 2023 Guggenheim Fellow, as she reflects on her exhibition Ten Moon and her evolving practice. After relocating from Atlanta to Tallahassee, Moon’s work has shifted to embrace new environments and influences. Ten Moon features her signature blend of paintings, ceramics, and mixed-media works that draw from Korean folk traditions, American pop culture, and digital iconography. At its center is the Shrine series, where paintings and ceramic objects merge into intimate, dreamlike spaces exploring memory, identity, and transformation. Moon will share insights into her practice, the symbolism of the moon as a marker of resilience and change, and her exploration of in-betweenness—where the familiar meets the surreal. Her work is held in major collections including the Hirshhorn, the High Museum of Art, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. This event is free and open to the public.

September 27 / 2:00pm Contemporary Talks

Curator Talk with Youmi Efurd

with a Special Performance by Atlanta Korean Cultural Center (AKCC)

Free

Join us for a special curator talk with Youmi Efurd, curator of the Richardson Family Art Museum at Wofford College, as she discusses two exhibitions currently on view: Shaping Identity: Korean Print in Diaspora and Ten Moon by Jiha Moon. Shaping Identity explores the relationship between cultural heritage, migration, and identity through the lens of printmaking. Featuring works by Tschang Yeul Kim, Kakyoung Lee, U-fan Lee, Jiha Moon, Yoonmi Nam, Nam June Paik, Jean Shin, Joo Yeon Woo, and Jayoung Yoon, the exhibition highlights how Korean and diasporic artists have used printmaking to navigate traditions, hybridity, and belonging across generations. Ten Moon presents a new body of work by Jiha Moon that reflects her transition from Atlanta to Tallahassee and her ongoing exploration of identity, memory, and transformation. Incorporating paintings, ceramics, and mixed media, Moon blends Korean folk traditions, American pop culture, and digital imagery into a vibrant, dreamlike language of resilience and renewal. Efurd will share insights into the curatorial vision behind these exhibitions and discuss how they together reflect themes of cultural continuity, migration, and the evolution of identity. To close the event, the Atlanta Korean Cultural Center (AKCC) will present a Nanta performance, a high-energy percussion show that celebrates Korean culture and traditions through rhythm and movement. Founded in 2008 by HyunSuk Yang, AKCC has performed at national, state, and local festivals with a mission to build community connections through performing arts and education. This event is free and open to the public.

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