Join us on Thursday, November 30, 7:30 pm, for a lively evening of music inspired by artwork in the Tang collection. Celebrated composer, guitarist, singer, and bandleader Howard Fishman and three members of his touring company, Osei Essed, Dina Maccabee, James Harrison Monaco, will each perform a musical response to a selection from the Tang collection, including many works relating to mid-20th-century New York City life. Selections include photographs by Diane Arbus, Garry Winogrand, and N. Jay Jaffee; cityscapes by Joseph Pennell and Jessie Tarbox Beals; and a 1907 mug shot photo; as well portraits by Mike Disfarmer.

This event is free and open to the public. See the Invisible is supported by Accelerate: Access and Inclusion at The Tang Teaching Museum, a project of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

About the Artists

Howard Fishman 
A multi-platform artist based in Brooklyn, New York, Howard Fishman is a composer and international performing and recording artist who has released eleven albums and has headlined in venues ranging from Lincoln Center to basements in rural Romania. Fishman is a frequent NPR guest, and has made feature-length appearances on “Fresh Air” with Terry Gross, “World Cafe” with David Dye, “The Leonard Lopate Show” and “Soundcheck” with John Schaefer, among many others. His play A Star Has Burnt My Eye had its world premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in 2016, and will be performed at Skidmore in fall 2017. Fishman also writes about culture (most recently for the New Yorker), is a visual artist, and is currently writing a biography of Connie Converse.

Osei Essed
Osei Essed is a film composer and singer-songwriter. His composition credits include the award-winning films Tower (2016, executive producers Meredith Vieira and Luke Wilson), Jim: The James Foley Story (2016 Emmy Winner) and Finders Keepers (2014). Essed’s music is the centerpiece of Benh Zeitlin’s (Beasts of the Southern Wild) short film Glory at Sea (2008). In addition to scoring documentaries and feature films, Essed leads the Brooklyn-based bands The Woes and Big Hands Rhythm and Blues Band. His deep voice has often been compared to that of Tom Waits. 

Dina Maccabee
Dina Maccabee specializes in experimental, traditional, and improvisational approaches to viola and violin; creative songwriting; and using voice expressively in both narrative and non-narrative modes. Using electronic processing, looping, and effects, she adds depth, space, and complexity to her performances and compositions. In 2015–2016, she was the violist/backup vocalist for international tours with respected songwriter and composer Julia Holter, and she has toured extensively since 2003 with Carla Bozulich, Vienna Teng, Ramon & Jessica, Beth Custer, and Real Vocal String Quartet, of which she’s an original member. She has also recorded three albums of original music: Who Do You Suppose You Are? (2010), Songs 4 Violin + Voice (2012), and The World is in the Work (2017). She recently co-wrote the musical Sweet Land, which premiered in May 2017 at History Theatre in St. Paul, Minnesota.

James Harrison Monaco
James Harrison Monaco is a writer, storyteller, performer, and musician based in New York. His work is a high-speed blend of live music, literature, and theater. His recent show built with composer Jerome Ellis, Aaron/Marie (co-directed by Rachel Chavkin and Annie Tippe), was first presented by Under The Radar in August 2013. His solo show Reception (directed by Rachel Chavkin) was selected by HERE Arts Center to run as part of their Spring Artist Lodge in March 2012. His earlier collaboration with Ellis, They Ran and Ran and Ran, played at HERE Arts Center in April 2010 as part of The Motherlodge Festival, and the duo scored and performed in Love Machine (directed by Andrew Scoville) at Incubator Arts in May 2013.