Katherine Liberovskaya is a video and media artist based in Montreal, Canada, and New York City. Since the late eighties she has produced many single-channel videos, video installation works and video performances which have been presented at a wide variety of artistic venues and events around the world. As of recent years her work - in single-channel and installation video as well as performance - mainly revolves around collaborations with new music composers/sound artists, notably Phill Niblock, Al Margolis/If,Bwana, Hitoshi Kojo, Zanana, David Watson, David First and Keiko Uenishi (o.blaat). Since 2003 she is active in live video mixing exploring improvisation with numerous live new music/audio artists including: Margarida Garcia, Barry Weisblat, Monique Buzzarté, Shelley Hirsch, Anthony Coleman, Kristin Norderval, Giuseppe Ielasi, Renato Rinaldi, Micheal Delia, Richard Garet, André Gonçalves, Matt Pass, Audrey Chen, murmer, the Notekillers, Marina Rosenfeld, Jim Bell, Jason Kahn, Tom Hamilton, among others. In addition to her art practice she has concurrently been involved in the programming and organization of diverse media art events, notably with Studio XX in Montreal (programming coordinator 1996-1998, president 2001-2003), Espace Vidéographe, Montreal, as well as Experimental Intermedia, NY (Screen Compositions 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009) and the OptoSonic Tea series with Ursula Scherrer in NYC.
David First¹s musical life is filled with opposites and extremes. As a performer he has played in raucous drunken bar bands and in pin-drop quiet concert halls with classical ensembles. As a composer First has created everything from finely crafted pop songs to long, severely minimalist drone-works. His performances often find him sitting trance-like without seeming to move a muscle, unless he is playing with his recently re-formed psychedelic punk band, Notekillers, at which time he is a whirling blur of hyperactive energy. First has been called 'a fascinating artist with a singular technique' in The New York Times, and 'a bizarre cross between Hendrix and La Monte Young' in The Village Voice. A 45 single released in 1980, The Zipper, by Notekillers, was cited by Sonic Youth¹s Thurston Moore as one of the songs he played for the rest of the band when they were starting out. Moore called it a 'mind-blowing instrumental single' in the British rock magazine Mojo and ³a big influence² in the Philadelphia Inquirer. The Notekillers have released an archival CD on Ecstatic Peace and recently participated in the All Tomorrow¹s Parties¹ Nightmare Before Christmas Festival in Great Britain. Upcoming releases include a 3-CD compilation of First¹s drone-works, Privacy Issues (1996-2009) on Phill Niblock¹s XI label and a new lp by the Notekillers.
Katherine Liberovskaya David First