Forcefield (art Collective)
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Forcefield was an American
noise Noise is sound, chiefly unwanted, unintentional, or harmful sound considered unpleasant, loud, or disruptive to mental or hearing faculties. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrat ...
band and art collective, founded in 1997 in
Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...
, closely associated with Fort Thunder.Smith, Roberta (16 December 2006).
Looking for Graphic Lightning From Fort Thunder
, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''. Retrieved 19 October 2012.


Work

Known for performing in colorful full-body knit-wear of their own design, the band rarely played outside of Rhode Island but did two US tours with their Fort Thunder roommates Lightning Bolt. Members included Meerk Puffy (
Matt Brinkman Mat Brinkman (born 1973 in Austin, Texas, Austin, Texas) is an American artist and electronic musician. Also known as Matt Brinkman, Meerk Puffy, Mystery Brinkman, Brinkman, Brinkmangler, and Mucid Cuspidor. He is based in Colorado. History B ...
), Gorgon Radeo (
Jim Drain Jim Drain (born 1975) is an American mixed media artist. Drain often makes work collaboratively, first within the collective, Forcefield (1996–2002) and also with artists Elyse Allen, Ara Peterson, and Ben Russell, respectively. Life and wor ...
), P Lobe ( Ara Peterson), and Le Geef (Leif Goldberg). The group become more widely recognized after being included in the 2002
Whitney Biennial The Whitney Biennial is a biennial exhibition of contemporary American art organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. The event began as an annual exhibition in 1932; the first biennial was held in 1973. It is considered ...
, but disbanded shortly afterwards. According to writer
Rachel Kushner Rachel Kushner (born October 7, 1968) is an American writer, known for her novels '' Telex from Cuba'' (2008), '' The Flamethrowers'' (2013), '' The Mars Room'' (2018), and ''Creation Lake'' (2024). Early life Kushner was born in Eugene, Oregon, ...
, the group's Whitney Biennial installation was "a pandemonium of ear-cracking sound, seizure-inducing films, and bewigged mannequins sheathed in the collective's trademark knit Afghans, which look like they were produced by a team of Taylorist acidheads with industrial looms." ''Third Annual Roggabogga'', the soundtrack accompanying their Biennial show, was released as a CD by Load Records in 2003. Later that year, Bulb Records put out the posthumous ''Lord of the Rings Modulator''. In addition to performing, the group produced a number of single channel video works to be projected behind them during performances. The videos are both serious and sublime, while simultaneously maintaining a sensibility of deadpan humor and menace.


References


External links


Forcefield Bio
at
Electronic Arts Intermix Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI) is a nonprofit organization, nonprofit arts organization that is a resource for video and media art. An advocate of media art and artists since 1971, EAI's core program is the distribution and preservation of a colle ...
br>eai.org


American artist groups and collectives American noise rock music groups Musical groups from Rhode Island Load Records artists {{US-experimental-band-stub