‘Variations on Leonard French,’ has been created in a collaboration between award-winning composer Tamil Rogeon and renowned video artist Paul W Rankin.
The commissioned arts performance has been inspired by the Four Seasons, a set of stained glass panels in the University’s sculpture park at its Melbourne campus, created by celebrated Australian artist Leonard French, who also designed the stained glass ceiling in the great hall of the National Gallery of Victoria.
‘Variations on Leonard French’ will screen at sunset on 18 November, with the accompanying music played live by the Australian Youth Orchestra’s Momentum Ensemble.
Composer Tamil Rogeon and film director Paul W Rankin said the music and the film would intertwine to deeply explore Leonard French’s art.
“I wanted to capture a spirit of energy, endeavour, risk and experimentation in this piece of music,” Tamil said.
“Those qualities were prized by my favourite 20th Century composers and they are the values at the heart of a great university.”
“The more I look at the light through Leonard French’s windows the more it feels like a living thing,” Paul W Rankin said.
La Trobe University Vice-Chancellor Professor John Dewar said the new film would take a central place in the University’s extensive cultural collection of more than 8,000 artworks spanning visual arts, music and film amassed over the University’s 50 years.
“I’m looking forward to the result of this creative collaboration - an esteemed composer and filmmaker coming together to produce an extraordinary new work of art especially for our 50th anniversary celebrations,” Professor Dewar said.
“Not only will it be a marvellous conclusion to our 50th birthday, ‘Variations on Leonard French’ will be a valuable long-term addition to the University’s culturally-significant art collection.”
About composer Tamil Rogeon
Tamil Rogeon is an award-winning composer, violinist and producer.
He has collaborated with the MSO, Orchestra Victoria, The Australian Youth Orchestra (AYO), and the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM).
He has also worked with individual artists from across the musical spectrum ranging from Aloe Blacc and Kate Ceberano to Doug de Vries.
He is a co-founder of the orchestral electronic band The Raah Project and the award winning Harvey Sutherland Bermuda ensemble.
In 2016 he composed and produced an 80-minute soundtrack to an AFL football match/film that was performed live by the MSO at Hamer Hall to the projected film The Draw: A Symphony.
In 2017 Rogeon launched and performed the record 24 Hours In Lapa, an ambitious orchestral electronic Brazilian song cycle.
Tamil is Honorary Fellow of the University of Melbourne in their School of Contemporary Music.
About video artist Paul W Rankin
Paul W. Rankin is a filmmaker and video artist based in Brisbane, Australia.
His live visual practice employs layers of continuously mixed video to create a space that hangs in the balance between the abstract and representational.
His visuals are created from practical effects, using no CGI.
He has collaborated with world-renowned musicians and sound artists including Lawrence English, Norman Westberg (Swans), and Heinz Riegler.
His work has screened in Australia, Austria, Germany, Serbia, and the United States.
soundvision
Taking place on Saturday 18 November, soundvision will be one of the biggest and most exciting music and arts events ever to be staged for the community in Melbourne’s north.
Photo: Tamil Rogeon credit: Tony Owczarek
More information on soundvision.
Media Contact: Claire Bowers – c.bowers@latrobe.edu.au - 9479 2315 / 0437279903
