NNeng at Baktun 30APR99 [excerpt]
Stereo, NTSC Color, 2002
Brian Moran: Sound Boxes, Microphone
Nancy Meli Walker: Video Switcher, Fairlight CVI, Props
Baktun was a club on Manhattan's West 14th Street back when the area was a functioning Meatpacking District, the streets smelled nasty but it was cool. Before we played that night the curator very sternly told us, "Remember, you have to play 50 minutes!" NNeng jammed for 51 minutes.
This show was typical of what NNeng was best known for- long
improvised audiovisual jams with commonplace props, extreme color and throbbing sound. Nancy and Benton would gather small objects that looked interesting under a camera; Brian collected electronic music gear. In NNeng performances, Nancy and Benton each used a video switcher, not just as a way to choose between video inputs but as an artistic improvisational tool. NNeng would unwind and rewind abrasive, unimaginable images and stern sound as three 'adults' played with tables strewn with junk and equipment.
This excerpt of our improvisation at Baktun 30APR99 was screened at PROA FUNDACION in Buenos Aires in a show curated by Minou Maguna in 2005.