Leah Singer (born 1962) is a

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...

and

multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms, such as Text (literary theory), writing, Sound, audio, images, animations, or video, into a single presentation. T ...

artist. She is the long-time artistic collaborator and wife of

Lee Ranaldo Lee Mark Ranaldo (born February 3, 1956) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known as a co-founder of the rock band Sonic Youth. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked Ranaldo at number 33 on its "Greatest Guitarists of All Time" li ...

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

. Singer performs with multiple modified film projectors that allow her to improvise and manipulate the

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

projections by adjusting the frame rate. She has likened what she does with film as similar to DJs who scratch with records. Luke Meat, "Two Flim [sic
/nowiki> Projectors & A Feeback [sic">ic">Luke Meat, "Two Flim [sic
/nowiki> Projectors & A Feeback [sic/nowiki> Tone", ''Discorder'', April 2004 ]

Biography

Singer was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and studied journalism and photography at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now known as Toronto Metropolitan University) in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. She moved to New York City in the 1980s to study film and became involved with improvisational musicians. She also trained as a

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

. Her work combines these different approaches to mediums. Since 1991 she has been doing film and music collaborations with Ranaldo. Her work has been presented in museums, galleries and concert halls worldwide. Her two sons are Sage Ranaldo and Frey Ranaldo. Singer has published several books with her husband, including ''Bookstore'', ''Road Movies'' and ''Moroccan Journal: Jajouka excerpt''. She went to Jajouka, Morocco, with Lee Ranaldo to follow in the footsteps of luminaries like

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist. He is widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major Postmodern literature, postmodern author who influen ...

Brian Jones Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English musician and founder of the Rolling Stones. Initially a slide guitarist, he went on to sing backing vocals and played a wide variety of instruments on Rolling Stones r ...

Brion Gysin Brion Gysin (19 January 1916 – 13 July 1986) was a British-Canadian painter, writer, sound poet, performance artist and inventor of experimental devices. He is best known for his use of the cut-up technique, alongside his close friend, the ...

Paul Bowles Paul Frederic Bowles (; December 30, 1910November 18, 1999) was an American expatriate composer, author, and translator. He became associated with the Moroccan city of Tangier, where he settled in 1947 and lived for 52 years to the end of his ...

and

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, trumpeter, violinist, and composer. He is best known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Ja ...

.http://www.skor.nl/PanoramicPortraits/Leah/web.html, retrieved June 13, 2008
/ref> ''Drift'' is documented in a DVD and book publication. The book includes a conversation with Ranaldo and Singer, and texts by experimental filmmaker

Jonas Mekas Jonas Mekas (; ; December 24, 1922 – January 23, 2019) was a Lithuanian-American filmmaker, poet, and artist who has been called "the godfather of American avant-garde cinema". Mekas's work has been exhibited in museums and at festivals world ...

, artists Sam Durant and Tom Leeser, writer and musician

Alan Licht Alan Licht (born June 6, 1968) is an American guitarist and composer, whose work combines elements of pop, noise, free jazz and minimalism. He is also a writer and journalist. Biography Licht was born in New Jersey in 1968. His earliest music ...

, and curators Roland Spekle and Lea Rekow. Singer has also collaborated with

Elliott Sharp Elliott Sharp (born March 1, 1951) is an American contemporary classical music, contemporary classical composer, multi-instrumentalist, performer, author, and visual artist. A central figure in the Avant-garde music, avant-garde and experimenta ...

and

Ikue Mori (born 17 December 1953), also known as Ikue Ile, is a drummer, electronic musician, composer, and graphic designer. Mori was awarded a "Genius grant" from the MacArthur Foundation in 2022. Biography Ikue Mori was born and raised in Japan. She sa ...

Published works

*''Bookstore and Others'' (paperback) – Lee Ranaldo, Leah Singer, Hozomeen Press (April 1995), *''Drift'' (paperback) – Lee Ranaldo, Leah Singer, Gigantic ArtSpace (2005), *''Moroccan Journal: Jajouka excerpt'' (unknown binding) – Lee Ranaldo, Leah Singer, Ring Tarigh for the Literary Renaissance (1997), ASIN: B0006RJF80 *''Road Movies'' (paperback) – Lee Ranaldo, Leah Singer, Soft Skull Press (November 2004), *''Against Refusing'' - Lee Ranaldo, Cover Art by Leah Singer, Water Row Press, 2010, Hardcover,

References

External links

* *
''Drift'' DVD and book
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singer, Leah Photographers from New York City American multimedia artists American video artists American women photographers Canadian contemporary artists Canadian photographers Canadian multimedia artists Canadian video artists American women video artists Canadian women artists Artists from Winnipeg Film directors from Winnipeg Writers from Winnipeg Toronto Metropolitan University alumni 21st-century American women 1962 births Living people