• PERFORMANCELars Jan, Early Morning Opera: ABACUS / Image: courtesy of the artist Lars Jan, Early Morning Opera: ABACUS / Image: courtesy of the artist
  • INSTALLATIONDr. Hieronyous Yang guides a one-on-one interaction with the GEOSCOPE / Image: courtesy of the artist Dr. Hieronyous Yang guides a one-on-one interaction with the GEOSCOPE / Image: courtesy of the artist
  • PERFORMANCELars Jan, Early Morning Opera: ABACUS / Image: courtesy of the artist Lars Jan, Early Morning Opera: ABACUS / Image: courtesy of the artist
  • PERFORMANCELars Jan, Early Morning Opera: ABACUS / Image: courtesy of the artist Lars Jan, Early Morning Opera: ABACUS / Image: courtesy of the artist
  • PERFORMANCELars Jan, Early Morning Opera: ABACUS / Image: courtesy of the artist Lars Jan, Early Morning Opera: ABACUS / Image: courtesy of the artist
  • PERFORMANCELars Jan, Early Morning Opera: ABACUS / Image: courtesy of the artist Lars Jan, Early Morning Opera: ABACUS / Image: courtesy of the artist
  • PERFORMANCELars Jan, Early Morning Opera: ABACUS / Image: courtesy of the artist Lars Jan, Early Morning Opera: ABACUS / Image: courtesy of the artist
  • PERFORMANCELars Jan, Early Morning Opera: ABACUS / Image: courtesy of the artist Lars Jan, Early Morning Opera: ABACUS / Image: courtesy of the artist

Event Info:

Filament: Early Morning Opera: ABACUS

Friday October 1, 7:00 PM +
Saturday October 2, 9:00 PM Concert Hall

Post-show talk immediately following Friday’s performance

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Early Morning Opera: ABACUS

ABACUS, a large-scale multimedia presentation by Early Morning Opera under the direction of Lars Jan, features Paul Abacus and his re-imagining of Buckminster Fuller's Geoscope as a data cathedral for the masses. This Geoscope expands on Fuller's dream of a data visualization device that would comprehensively model the Earth's 'vital statistics,' historic patterns, and future projections. Aided by this device and a chorus of Steadicam operators, ABACUS argues the obsolescence of national borders and proposes their dissolution while simultaneously acting as a study in two dominant forms of persuasive discourse today: the TED-style (slide-based) presentation and megachurch media design.

ABACUS serves as an interrogation of the art of persuasion as a catalyst for cultural evolution, examining the moment that data — distilled, visualized, spun — yields a visceral, rather than merely conceptual, impact. Fueled by our content-saturated, data-driven, personality-obsessed moment, ABACUS explores the fundamental intention of 'beautiful evidence' and the reliability of the presentation format that drives our culture.

A talk with the artists will follow Friday’s performance

Curator: Kathleen Forde

Tickets are REQUIRED for this event

Dr. Hieronyous Yang

ABACUS functions as a complementary installation to the performance of the same name by Early Morning Opera. From two distinct locations in EMPAC’s 1,200 seat Concert Hall, one can either interact directly with the live protagonist of the installation, Dr. Hieronyous Yang, or observe these five minute interactions. Via his touch screen clad paws, Dr. Yang, the world’s first accredited giant panda, guides individual participants through the world of suspended multi-channel illumination for the Screen Age dreamed up by Paul Abacus, and inspired by Buckminster Fuller’s Geoscope.

VIDEO

Lars Jan:

LARS JAN is a director, designer, writer, and media artist. He is the artistic director of Early Morning Opera, a multi-disciplinary art lab based in LA that specializes in live performance.

His original performance and installation works have been seen at The Whitney Museum of American Art (NYC) and REDCAT (LA), among others. He has developed new work at Princeton University’s Atelier Program and The MacDowell Colony, as well as in Japan, Afghanistan, and Ukraine. Lars completed his MFA in Directing and Integrated Media at the California Institute of the Arts. He is the recipient of the 2008 Sherwood Award, granted by Center Theater Group to an innovative Theater artist in Los Angeles.


More information:

Performance Dates/Times:

Friday October 1, 7:00 PM

Saturday October 2, 9:00 PM