Artist Statement

Jessica Leza

Born in the swamps outside of Houston, Jessica Leza began formal studies of voice and photography at the age of 11. After bewildering her music teachers with sound collages of garage sale cassette tapes and traffic sonatas, she studied music composition and voice at the University of North Texas, where the visual and intermedia arts continued to influence pieces which have been recognized in performances around the United States. As a vocalist she has performed across the United States, France, Russia, China, and Venezuela, particularly in world music ensembles whose repertoire spans Asia, Latin America, and Europe in styles which borrow from jazz, folk traditions, Western classical music, and the rock, blues, and country of the southern US. In 2006, she taught a course in business English at the Hunan Institute of Engineering in Hunan, China, during which time she collected the images used in subsequent photographic exhibitions throughout the United States. Her photography hangs in private collections spanning five continents, and has been published by art and literature journals and organizations such as UNICEF. Most recently the series "Images of South China" was recognized during the Prix de la Photographie Paris.

Born in Bogotá, Colombia in 1978, Camilo Salazar began his studies in classical guitar performance at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia. In 2002, he transferred to the University of North Texas, where he transferred to composition. He has studied under the supervision of Jon Christopher Nelson, Joseph Butch Rovan, Andrew May, Joseph Klein, and David Bithell. His pieces have been selected in numerous festivals and concerts in the United States, Europe and Colombia; he has been awarded with several honors, scholarships, and fellowships for his academic achievement. Currently, he is completing a master of music in composition and computer music at the University of North Texas, where he holds a Teaching Assistant position at the Center for Experimental Music and Intermedia (CEMI) of the University of North Texas. As a guitarist he has participated in several international and renowned festivals and master classes as the Festival Internacional de la Guitarra in La Havana, Cuba. Currently, he is an active member of the new music ensemble at the University of North Texas—NOVA—under the supervision of Elizabeth McNutt.

Combining elements of the visual arts and experimental music has become an integral part of my current works. Music and images working together and transforming through time lend each other new meaning, as well as allowing for a more diverse palette of expression without condemning one element or the other to dominance. The abstractions made possible by stop-motion animation meld with exquisite flexibility with more concrete representations of a shared human experience, offering the viewer with a multitude of viewpoints from which to approach each piece. It is allowing the audience to form their own relationship with the piece through independent interpretation that proves film to be the most exciting mechanism I have yet worked with.

Vejez naciente, Naciente vejez (2007) ("Old age nascence, Nascent old age") was serendipitously created in the tradition of the collaborations between composer John Cage and choreographer Merce Cunningham. The film was built with than 2,500 clay animation frames and live footage of a dancer. The score was created independently by experimental musician Camilo Salazar without consultation on any details except ultimate duration. The music and film was combined for the first time three hours before the first performance.

---Jessica Leza, 2007
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