PixelTongue is a multimedia performance duo that uses game controllers, paper maché shakers, and gesture recognition software, among other musical instruments, to probe the boundaries between physical reality and the digital beyond. PixelTongue was founded by composer-performers Christian Quiñones and Charlotte Mundy in 2023 as a way to practice deep collaboration and learn how to tell stories together. They harness bold sounds, visuals and sensations to expand and recontextualize everyday electronic objects and weave strange new narratives.
They recently performed with violist/composer Kurt Rhode and metronome sculptures by Marie Lorenz at the Jack Hanley Gallery in Manhattan. Their collaborative piece for voice, live visuals, and electronics, ‘Following/Flocking’ premiered on the Princeton Sound Kitchen Series alongside their performance of Remi Siu’s ‘New Notations for two players.’ Their pieces ‘Moniker’ and ‘We Were Dancing’ were performed at Brooklyn’s MITU580 on a bill with electronic musicians Phong Tran and Easterner.
Individually, Quiñones’ music has been performed by Alarm Will Sound, Mycelium New Music, on the MATA festival, the Bang on a Can summer festival and Eighth Blackbird Creative Lab. Mundy’s music has been supported by Harvestworks digital media art, The Americas Society and the Resonant Bodies Festival; she has performed at the Park Avenue Armory, the Metropolitan Museum, Abrons Arts Center and the BAM Next Wave Festival.
Moniker Moniker is a ritualistic piece that utilizes facial and hand recognition software to manipulate sounds and visuals (and emotions?) in real-time. It imagines a mystical sect that uses carefully choreographed sensory stimulation to reshape followers’ emotional landscapes.
“My creative history with New Dance Alliance goes a way long. Since my friend, Chivas Sandage brought me to New Dance Alliance to rehearse in early 90’s, the place has become a part of my creative life. The long time existence of the studio and Performance Mix Festival are vital to the artists who seek and explore deep into their process. Whenever I step into the studio, it’s a new space with a lot of memories. I lie down on the floor, listen to my body, and I dance. It is valuable. The time in the space nurtures my practice and artistic vision. Karen’s vision of Lift-Off residency, feedback sessions, providing peer to peer connections are more significant than ever. It has been helping us to get through 2020 and we are going into 2021.”
– Nami Yamamoto
New Dance Alliance
182 Duane Street
New York, NY 10013
All venues are wheelchair accessible.
