Ari Benjamin Meyers lives and works in Berlin, Germany. Meyers received his training as a classical musician, composer and conductor at The Juilliard School, Yale University, and Peabody Institute.
2018 Biennial Year Find out more
Meyers’ works as an artist, such as Symphony 80 and Solo for Ayumi (both 2017), explore structures and processes in music composition and relationships between performer and audience. His diverse practice includes creating musical performances for the stage and exhibition spaces. He has collaborated with artists such as Tino Sehgal and Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster; bands including Einstürzende Neubauten and Chicks on Speed; and classical ensembles like the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble.
Recent works were shown at Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam, Netherlands (2018), 14th Biennale de Lyon, France (2017); Spring Workshop, Hong Kong (2017); Lenbachhaus München, Munich, Germany (2017); Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, Germany (2016); Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw, Poland (2016); and KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany (2015).
Liverpool Biennial 2018
Four Liverpool Musicians (2018)
For the Biennial, Ari Benjamin Meyers created a series of musical compositions that form the basis for film portraits of four musicians from Liverpool, or with musical ties to the city: Bette Bright (Deaf School), Budgie (Siouxsie and the Banshees/Big in Japan), Ken Owen (Carcass) and Louisa Roach (She Drew The Gun). The films referenced the subjects’ personal histories and tell Liverpool’s musical history, representing its major musical movements while at the same time relating back to the city’s industrial past. This was the artist’s first film-based work and was presented on the stage of the Playhouse Theatre. The four films were played back with varying amounts of overlap to create a meta-composition and a dialogue between the performers.
Four Liverpool
For the Biennial, Ari Benjamin Meyers created a series of musical compositions that form the basis for film portraits of four musicians from Liverpool, or with musical ties to the city: Bette Bright (Deaf School), Budgie (Siouxsie and the Banshees/Big in Japan), Ken Owen (Carcass) and Louisa Roach (She Drew The Gun). The films referenced the subjects’ personal histories and tell Liverpool’s musical history, representing its major musical movements while at the same time relating back to the city’s industrial past. This was the artist’s first film-based work and was presented on the stage of the Playhouse Theatre. The four films were played back with varying amounts of overlap to create a meta-composition and a dialogue between the performers. Four Liverpool Musicians (Bette, Budgie, Ken, Louisa), 2018
Four Liverpool Musicians (2018)
Three channel video, 52:10 min
Four original scores
Commissioned by Liverpool Biennial
Exhibited at the Playhouse theatre
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Ari Benjamin Meyers, Four Liverpool Musicians, 2018.
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Ari Benjamin Meyers, Four Liverpool Musicians (Budgie) (film still), 2018.
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Ari Benjamin Meyers, Four Liverpool Musicians (Ken) (film still), 2018.
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Ari Benjamin Meyers, Four Liverpool Musicians (Ken) (film still), 2018.
Ari Benjamin Meyers: Four Liverpool Musicians
For Liverpool Biennial 2018, Ari Benjamin Meyers created a series of musical compositions that form the basis for film portraits of four musicians from Liverpool: Bette Bright (Deaf School), Budgie (Siouxsie and the Banshees/Big in Japan), Ken Owen (Carcass) and Louisa Roach (She Drew The Gun). Watch the artist discuss what it means to live your life through music, and how the portraits in this film installation connect to the musical history of Liverpool.
Liverpool Biennial 2018: Beautiful world, where are you? takes place across the city’s public spaces, galleries and civic buildings from 14 July until 28 October.
Video: Carl Davies, FACT Video Production Services / Film footage: Four Liverpool Musicians (Bette, Budgie, Ken, Louisa), 2018. Courtesy the artist