Charles Amirkhanian Collection ➔ Trimpin, head and shoulders portrait, seated in his studio, facing slightly left, Seattle WA., (1998)
Still image
Identifier
IM.CA.MFP.0001.006Dates
1998 | createdWork Type
Digital photographImage Series
Trimpin at his Seattle studio in 1998Description
Trimpin seated in his Seattle studio in 1998, surrounded by many of the modified instruments and computer controller interfaces that he has built. Trimpin is a sculptor and composer who builds his own electronically controlled acoustic instruments, often using materials recycled from junkyards. Trimpin is one of the most stimulating one-man forces in contemporary music. A specialist in interfacing computers with traditional acoustic instruments, he has developed a myriad of methods for playing trombones, cymbals, pianos, and other instruments from a computer. He has collaborated frequently with Conlon Nancarrow, realizing that composer's piano roll compositions through various media. Born in Germany, Trimpin now resides in Seattle where numerous instruments that defy description adorn his amazing studio. In describing his work, Trimpin sums it up as "extending the traditional boundaries of instruments and the sounds they're capable of producing by mechanically operating them. Although they're computer-driven, they're still real instruments making real sounds, but with another dimension added, that of spatial distribution. What I'm trying to do is go beyond human physical limitations to play instruments in such a way that no matter how complex the composition of the timing, it can be pushed over the limits."Genres & Subjects
Portrait photographs--1980-1990Men
Composers
Sculptors
Artists' studios
Unconventional instruments
Musical instrument makers