
Laurie Anderson Doesnt Define Herself and Neither Should You The avant-garde icon, tapped to help develop Berklee's new Dream Machine project, encouraged students to seek depth over definitions.
By
Bryan Parys
March 3, 2021
Image by Ebru Yildiz
Trying to describe the kind of artist that Laurie Anderson is can be a bit like trying to sum up what the ocean is. It's water, for sure, just like Anderson is for sure an artist. But then, theres what the ocean looks like on the surface versus what it's like underneath. How deep do we go, though? Are we talking watching crabs in ankle-deep tide pools or the untold organisms living impossibly in the depths of the midnight zone? Where do you start? Musician, composer, performance artist, director, virtual reality (VR) experience designer-these descriptors get close to the kind of work the Grammy-winner has achieved over the last half-century, but it's far from a sufficient definition.
Berklee students got the chance to hear from Anderson directly in a recent visiting artist interview, conducted remotely and moderated by Nona Hendryx, ambassador for artistry in education, and sponsored by the Electronic Production and Design (EPD) Department. Calling the session a Q&A is a bit misleading, as Anderson has a way of playfully eschewing direct answers in favor of offering an answer to an unasked question, or even answering in the form of a new question.
It's good to not define yourself too tightly. It's okay to be loose. And then you can do anything.
-Laurie Anderson
For instance, knowing that Anderson first came to music through the violin, Hendryx asked if being a violinist was Anderson's first career dream as a child. After a long pause, Anderson responded by asking Hendryx, Do you remember your dreams?
The mention of dreams was an apt one, given that Anderson will serve as the 2021 virtual visiting artist for the EPD Department, primarily to help students continue to develop the Dream Machine, a virtual-performance experience set inside a custom-built video game.
Anderson did arrive at a sort-of answer to Hendryx's question, flipping it into a piece of advice for the students in attendance, saying, It's good to not define yourself too tightly. It's okay to be loose. And then you can do anything. You don't have to think Is that going to feed into my style?'
Watch a guided tour by Laurie Anderson about Chalkroom, one of her recent VR exhibitions:
Even her interest in violin music is about discovery, as she admitted that she's always preferred an orchestra's second violin parts over the more recognizable first violin parts. There are so many hidden masterpieces in other things, she said. And to bring back the ocean analogy, Anderson once staged a performance of Claude Debussy's La Mer (or The Sea) with only the second violin parts, describing the result as the sound of waves undulating. As a minimalist, I sometimes prefer the simpler, more repetitive parts that are holding the whole thing together, she said.
To listen to Anderson talk, then, is a lot like interacting with one of her multifaceted projects, particularly the deeply layered worlds she's created in VR environments. The more you hang around and pay attention, the more wisdom seems to accumulate. Toward the end of the conversation, Anderson was asked whether art created for environments such as Zoom was a promising frontier beyond the pandemic's constraints, and true to fashion, her answer pointed to something deeper about art and innovation. When the art is good, she said, It stops mattering whether it's in a little window box [on your computer] or not. You go into this other world, whether it's music or a play or a reading or a conversation-there are many things that work very well this way. It's really nice to have a whole other viable way to do things.
Related Categories
News
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
09/09/2026
Sony Electronics has announced the SEL814G, the company's first fisheye zoom G Lens for full-frame Alpha E-mount cameras. The lens will be available in Octo...
09/09/2026
Telestream has announced an expansion of its Practical AI capabilities across th...
09/09/2026
Haivision and Chyron have announced a technology partnership integrating Haivisi...
09/09/2026
Omaha Productions has released ManningCast: Heist, a short film featuring Peyton and Eli Manning attempting to break into NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's o...
09/09/2026
Imagine Communications will demonstrate the next evolution of XVR at IBC2026 (Stand 1.B73, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14).
XVR is Imagine's channel-in-a-b...
09/09/2026
swXtch.io has announced abbe, an AI-based orchestration layer for live media workflows, making its world premiere at IBC2026 (Meeting Room 5.MR13, Hall 5, Septe...
09/09/2026
NFL Films has announced the second season of Inside the NFL on X as an X Original, premiering Wednesday, September 9. The series marks Inside the NFL's 50th...
09/09/2026
LiveU has announced an expanded partnership with The Associated Press, deploying the largest fleet of LU900Q intelligent production units in the industry as par...
09/09/2026
Diversified has announced plans to consolidate its four existing New Jersey locations into a new facility in Newark, expected to be fully operational by the end...
09/09/2026
Wisycom will exhibit new RF products at IBC2026 (Stand 8.D60, September 11-14), including the MATF Wideband Antenna Matrix, PFL Portable RF over Fiber Box, and ...
09/09/2026
Guntermann & Drunck (G&D) and VuWall, both Panoptec companies, will introduce vsNEO at IBC2026 (Stand 8.B63, September 11, RAI Amsterdam). Pre-orders open in ea...
09/09/2026
Mo-Sys has completed a business restructuring and relocated to a new facility in Canada Water, London. As part of the reorganization, Selin Kemal has been promo...
09/09/2026
Aicox has integrated TAG Video Systems' Core monitoring platform into Telef nica's TSAmediaHUB audiovisual contribution and distribution infrastructure....
09/09/2026
Blackmagic Design has released DaVinci Resolve 21.1, a free update available now through the Blackmagic Design website. The release adds new AI tools, workflow ...
09/09/2026
ESPN and Apple Music have announced a collaboration on music curation for Monday...
09/09/2026
Sacramento Production Services has completed a wireless audio overhaul at Sutter Health Park, home of the Athletics during their three-year residency in Sacrame...
09/09/2026
NDI and NVIDIA have announced a collaboration to develop AI-powered workflows enabling broadcasters to create and distribute multilingual content from a single ...
09/09/2026
Christopher Chip Adams, Troy Aikman, Jim Dove, Jim Eady, Bucky Gunts, Robert A. Iger, Charlie Jablonski, Robert Kraft, Tom Rinaldi, and Dick Stockton to be ho...
09/09/2026
ND2 returns as the primary unit, While FNIA gets SSQC and new flexible Rover...
09/09/2026
New parts aimed at hip-hop and pop productions
The latest update to Celemony's innovative virtual session musician expands the collection of built-in in...
09/09/2026
Save up to 40% until 21 September 2026
Sonarworks are currently running their Autumn Sale, with discounts of up to 40% currently available across their rang...
09/09/2026
Upcoming title officially launches in September 2026
Bjooks' celebrations for this year's 909 Day will be welcome news amongst drum machine lovers, ...
09/09/2026
NITV to bring First Nations netball to audiences nationwide
9 September, 2026
Media releases
Every match of the 2026 First Nations Tournament will be live ...
09/09/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) invites eligible Tier 1 and 2 South African production companies to submit proposals to serve as the Facilitating ...
09/09/2026
Italy launch follows UK and Germany as Nielsen expands product across EMEA
Milan, Italy, September 9, 2026 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, ...
09/09/2026
Planned solutions tackle accuracy, cost and latency barriers to deploying AI at ...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, introduces its new Model 791 Control Console at IBC 2026 (N...
09/09/2026
Maxon, maker of powerful, approachable software solutions for creators working in 2D and 3D design, motion graphics, visual effects and visualization, is headin...
09/09/2026
NUGEN Audio unveils DialogCheck v1.2, the latest evolution of its intelligent dialog intelligibility and compliance tool, at IBC 2026 (Pod P27). With a sharpene...
09/09/2026
Trusted Partner Network Launches Fix It or Risk It to Help the Entertainment Industry Tackle Everyday Security Risks
Industry-Wide Campaign Launches at IBC2...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
AI has moved firmly beyond experimentation in UK advertising, with more than eight in ten marketers (83%) now actively using or piloting AI in production, accor...
09/09/2026
IBC2026 - Stand 7.D22
At IBC2026, Pixitmedia by DataCore will showcase its latest capabilities designed to simplify distributed production, accelerate workflow...
09/09/2026
Stockholm, Sweden September 9th, 2026 At IBC2026, on booth 1.B47, Net Insight will showcase Open Live Media, its architecture for delivering resilient live ...
09/09/2026
Net Insight today announced that DMC Production Norway is continuing the use of its Open Live Media technology for premium European football, deploying Nimbra 5...
09/09/2026
Amagi, the media industry cloud platform for unified broadcast, streaming, and monetization, will showcase four new AI-native capabilities at IBC2026, Hall 5, S...
09/09/2026
Limecraft today announces version 2026.6 of its AI-powered production platform, extending capabilities for connected media operations. An AI-assisted approach t...
09/09/2026
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, today announced the next evolution of its Practical AI strategy, evolving its comprehensive portfoli...
09/09/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the appointment of Brian Doheny as Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
09/09/2026
LiveU is now a Clarus Integrated Reseller, bringing Starlink's fast, reliable broadband directly into LiveU's cellular bonding EcoSystem through a singl...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Wisycom is showcasing the latest additions to its ecosystem of professional RF technologies at IBC 2026 (Stand 8.D60). This includes its new MATF Wideband Anten...
09/09/2026
AMSTERDAM, IBC2026 VisualOn, Inc. and Cires21 today released an updated joint whitepaper at IBC 2026 demonstrating measurable, high-impact improvements in visu...