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Guillermo Galindo's work crosses many borders.
The Mexico-born Northern California artist bills himself as an "experimental composer, sonic architect, performance artist and Jungian tarotist" who creates works that jump the boundaries between music and visual art.
Galindo's performances give both the eyes and the ears something to contemplate, as he plays instruments that look like sculptures.
His works can be dissonant, and he cites "the importance of noise and silence" in the style of composer John Cage, one of his influences. (Galindo once adapted Cage's "Variations II" for a mariachi band.)
And his recent works — like "Sonic Borders 2 / Adrift," a solo "ritualistic composition" he will perform Thursday at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts' Dumke Auditorium — feature instruments he created from objects found along the U.S./Mexico border.
Gretchen Dietrich, executive director of UMFA, said Galindo's work is "so unbelievably, heartbreakingly relevant. … His work is, to me, beautifully and thoughtfully politically engaged."
Thursday's performance is part of a larger exhibit, "Border Cantos," a collaboration between Galindo and photographer Richard Misrach touring museums in the United States and Mexico — and has been captured in a companion book and a series of videos.
The Salt Lake Tribune asked Galindo, via email, about his work. Here, edited for clarity, is some of that interview:
How did you get interested in crossing the boundaries of music and visual art and performance art and all the other disciplines that you touch on?
When writing music, my main sources of music inspiration have, most of the time, originated from alternative art disciplines such as the visual arts, film and literature.
As a matter of fact, I finished a BA in graphic design while completing my music composition degree [at the National University Music School in Mexico City]. What I learned then has had a big impact in the way I conceive music.
Due to my fascination with the body as a medium of expression, I have gradually integrated performative aspects into my live concerts.
How did you come upon the idea of taking belongings left at the U.S./Mexico border and turning them into art objects / musical instruments?
One day I heard a radio program where people that live in the border were describing the objects left behind by immigrants. I was very touched by it, as my father had just passed and my mother invited me to take a look at his personal objects, which seemed imbued by his energy.
Mesoamerican cultures think that our personal objects and the sounds they produce are, in many ways, attached to our journey through this planet. My border instruments tell stories of people that once owned them. They speak for those who don't have a voice anymore.
Were there some items that lent themselves more to being transformed into instruments?
Yes. It all depends in shape, size and material. Solid items made from metal, plastic, wood or stone tend to make clearer and/or louder sounds. Larger objects are easier to shape. At some point I was challenged to produce sound from clothing items.
When creating the videos for "Border Cantos," do you start with the musical element or the visual element? Or does it depend on the piece?
All those musical pieces were improvised on the spot — so, at the time, I had to come up with something musically and visually effective as soon as possible. Body gestures are inseparable from musical gestures. The production of all those videos lasted only one day and it included many people and resources, so I couldn't waste one second.
In one of the videos, "Effigy," you play strings across a wooden X that's dressed in clothing, resembling a human figure. As a fan of "Game of Thrones," the X reminded me of the "Flayed Man" symbol of the Bolton family, one of the houses in the show. Is that just an odd coincidence?
The "Effigy" is based in mysterious figures that my colleague, photographer Richard Misrach, found at the border. This scarecrow-looking figures were made from crossed agave sticks and were dressed with immigrants' clothing.
I did watch and enjoyed "Game of Thrones" as well, but when I did, the piece was already finished and showing at the museum. Although there is no connection, the symbolism is universal.
A friend of mine also found a particular scene in "Planet of the Apes," which I have never seen, with similar effigies. Also during the exhibit, a museum visitor mentioned that it reminded her of the pose one adopts when frisked.
When I was designing the "Effigy," I kept thinking of Leonardo da Vinci's famous sketch of the human body.
Twitter: @moviecricket —
'Sonic Borders 2 / Adrift'
Composer/artist Guillermo Galindo will perform "Sonic Borders 2 / Adrift," a solo work from the larger "Border Cantos" exhibit.
Where • Dumke Auditorium, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, 410 Center Campus Drive, University of Utah, Salt Lake City
When • Thursday, 7 p.m.
Admission • Free
Also • Galindo will conduct a Q&A after the performance, followed by a signing of the book "Border Cantos," based on his collaboration with photographer Richard Misrach. Copies of the book will be available for purchase.
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UMFA's renovation at halfway point
Composer/artist Guillermo Galindo's performance Thursday marks a milestone for the Utah Museum of Fine Arts: The first live performance in the Dumke Auditorium since the museum closed in January for a major building renovation.
Gretchen Dietrich, the museum's executive director, reports the renovation of the Marcia & John Price Museum Building on the University of Utah campus is going well — though taking a bit longer than expected.
Construction delays pushed the projected completion date into spring 2017 — around the end of the semester, Dietrich said. Because of that, the museum's reopening date has been moved to August.
"We decided it was smarter to take the summer and do it right," Dietrich said.
The front of the building, which houses the lobby, cafe and the Dumke Auditorium, will re-open sometime in October, Dietrich said.
The auditorium got its first new use on Wednesday, for a screening presented by the Utah Film Center. The auditorium was packed.
The renovation is an upgrade for the Price building, to install new technology to maintain the "vapor barrier" that keeps humidity at the level needed to preserve the museum's artwork. The renovation also aims to preserve the building, which opened in 2000 and has felt the strain of producing that humidity in Utah's dry desert climate.
The renovation has also meant refinishing the floors, repainting the walls, improving the acoustics in the Great Hall, reconfiguring the walls and rethinking the layout of the galleries.
During the renovation, Dietrich said, "I've fallen in love with the architecture of [this] building.… It was wonderful before, but it's even better now."
The museum's curators have also been diving into the art in storage, Dietrich said, and finding works that have not been on view in years.
When the major collections are re-installed next year, Dietrich said, "one goal is to get more art from storage into rotation." Part of that art, she said, will be a trove of works on paper — drawings, prints and photographs — that, because of their fragile nature, can only be displayed for about six months at a time.
With the museum's building closed, Dietrich said her staff has been focusing on community outreach, and have been pleased with the results. Some of UMFA's "ArtLandish" events have drawn people unfamiliar with the museum's mission.
"We're making new friends, we're keeping people engaged," Dietrich said. "We're introducing ourselves to community members who don't typically come up the hill."
— Sean P. Means —
'Sonic Borders 2 / Adrift'
P Composer/artist Guillermo Galindo will perform "Sonic Borders 2 / Adrift," a solo work from the larger "Border Cantos" exhibit.
Where • Dumke Auditorium, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, 410 Center Campus Drive, University of Utah, Salt Lake City
When • Thursday, 7 p.m.
Admission • Free
Also • Galindo will conduct a Q&A after the performance, followed by a signing of the book "Border Cantos," based on his collaboration with photographer Richard Misrach, which will be available for purchase.