Janene Higgins and Zeena Parkins

Harpist Zeena Parkins, who has played in many contemporary groups such as Butch Morris's Conduction, the Skeleton Crew, John Zorn's Cobra, the quintet No Safety (which she co-founded), and The Gangster Band, and video artist Janene Higgins have been presenting their unique multimedia duo performances since the mid-1990's, beginning with a series they dubbed "Eyewash". On this videotape, they present an excerpt from their enthralling piece "Arch" in which Parkins, improvises, elegantly and at times wildly, on an electric harp of her own design and on accordion, her sound palette ranging through ethereal to earthy timbres. Higgins simultaneously creates spellbinding video synthesis in real time, contrasting lyrical physical forms (bodies and architecture) with mysterious abstract colorizations and non-narrative movements projected on several screens. Following the performance, Parkins and Higgins discuss how they coordinate their parts, exchange ideas and develop a performance (for example, tape their rehearsal "jams" and review them). Higgins describes her early commercial video work for clients and her gradual transition to performance, and Parkins details her efforts to re-define the uses of the harp. Click here to view clip.