The Brief
Annie Hart is a singer-songwriter and a member of the synth trio Au Revoir Simone, currently on hiatus. Her musical influences include Laurie Spiegel and Tubeway Army. Hart’s debut solo album, Impossible Accomplice, was released on Uninhabitable Mansions in July 2017. The first single, ‘Hard To Be Still’, is featured on Gypsy, a Netflix series starring Naomi Watts. As a member of Au Revoir Simone, Hart performed the track ‘Lark’ on an episode of Twin Peaks.
This is the first interview in a five-part series celebrating our favourite electronic and synth music albums of 2017. You can read the other interviews in this series here: Lusine, Blanck Mass, Yumi Zouma, Hauschka.
Which album would you recommend to our readers?
The Expanding Universe by Laurie Spiegel. This refuses to get unlistenable for me. I crave it like a warm cup of tea on a cool night. It’s an unending, unravelling mystery of beauty.
Which visual artwork would you recommend to our readers?
LaTonya, a painting by Jenna Gribbon. The luminous glow from LaTonya’s eyes is incredibly captivating. She knows something and she’s keeping it to herself, for now.
Which architectural work would you recommend to our readers?
Lookout Studio, designed by Mary Colter. I love the way this building appears to teeter on the edge of the cliff at the Grand Canyon, as if it had emerged from the stone itself.
Which book would you recommend to our readers?
Ways of Seeing by John Berger. A classic of media criticism and analysis. It opened my eyes to the history behind the images influencing us today.
Perspectives
The following questions relate to our Perspectives column, in which two writers respond to an artwork that they are experiencing for the first time.
Are all narrators self-serving?
Yes, and your narration of your own life is usually the worst culprit.
Can art erase history?
Devoid of context of the privilege and meaning of the artist, art can revise and elucidate history as much as the word can.
Can the search for meaning in art lead us to dead ends?
Searching for meaning in anything is completely arbitrary, so all ends are inherently meaningful, as much as they contribute to our lives.
States of the Arts
The following questions relate to our States of the Arts column, for which each article includes four artworks that share an association with a single nation or territory.
Which Chilean artwork would you recommend to our readers?
I visited the Museum of Memory and Human Rights in Santiago, and fell so deeply into the struggle of people against the regime of Augusto Pinochet. The ‘No’ campaign poster for that movement stuck with me.
Which Icelandic music would you recommend to our readers?
Amiina – a beautiful, atmospheric band. I love their soundscapes.
Which Puerto Rican artwork would you recommend to our readers?
Bodegón con guanábanas, a painting by Francisco Oller. A lush still-life painted in the style of the day, but by a native of his native land.
The art of discovery
The following questions relate to Silent Frame’s aim to celebrate the art of discovery.
Where do you go to discover new art?
Libraries in other cities. They combine the benefit of less mental clutter from travelling and randomness in new works discovered off the shelf.
What question would you like to ask other Silent Frame interviewees?
Does knowledge of your mortality affect your art – and if so, how?
More to discover
Annie Hart: You can listen to Annie Hart’s music, including the single ’Hard To Be Still’, on Bandcamp and SoundCloud. Bradley Spinelli has interviewed the artist for Bedford + Bowery. You can watch Au Revoir Simone perform ‘Lark’ on Twin Peaks here, and read a conversation between David Lynch and the group on The Telegraph (UK).
Today’s recommendations: The Expanding Universe (album), LaTonya (painting), Lookout Studio (information), Ways of Seeing (excerpt), Museum of Memory and Human Rights (information), Amiina (SoundCloud page), Bodegón con guanábanas (information).
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