Sarah Zar, born Sarah Gonek, is an American visual artist, songwriter, performance artist,

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

, and

musical saw A musical saw, also called a singing saw, is a hand saw used as a musical instrument. Capable of continuous glissando (portamento), the sound creates an ethereal tone, very similar to the theremin. The musical saw is classified as a plaque f ...

player. She has been publishing writing, showing art, and performing music in New York and elsewhere since 1998. She is the granddaughter of Rose Zar.

Music

Sarah Zar is a founding member of Row Raven Row and Torcher Chamber Ensemble, as well as musical saw player with singers Shayfer James and

Yula Beeri Yula Beeri, born Yuli Yael Be'eri, is an Israeli composer, musician, and performer. She has been performing music in New York City for the past ten years. Yula is the founder of the music and arts collective Yula & The Extended Family (YXFM), ...

. She occasionally makes guest appearances with Crooks & Perverts, and Dolchnakov Brigade. Her collaborations include combinations of saw playing/ song writing/ singing with Shayfer James of the band Shayfer James, Yula Beeri of Yula & The Extended Family (formerly of

The World Inferno Friendship Society The World/Inferno Friendship Society (also referred to as World Inferno, or Inferno) was an American band from Brooklyn, New York. Its style merged punk, soul, klezmer and jazz, while its collective membership featured horns, piano and guitar ...

, Nanuchka, and

Star Fucking Hipsters Star Fucking Hipsters is an American punk rock band from New York City who have released albums on Fat Wreck Chords and Alternative Tentacles records. They have been called a "punk supergroup" and feature members from numerous notable bands in ...

Shlomi Lavie Shlomi Lavie is an Israeli-born American-based musician, best known as the drummer for Marcy Playground. He has also played with various other bands, including Nanuchka and Electro Morocco in New York City, and formerly with The Magical Mystery ...

of Marcy Playground and Dolchnakov Brigade, Ryder Cooley of Fall Harbor, Torcher Chamber Ensemble, Crooks and Perverts, and many others.

Yula & The Extended Family

The music and arts collective Yula & The Extended Family (YXFM), founded by

is an ever-morphing poetic tribe based at The Hive NYC in Brooklyn. The group's members not only produce music but also theater, film, photography, painting, literature, horticulture, honey, and more. Current members of The Extended Family include Yula Beeri (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards,

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

, and more), Isaac Gardner (drums, theater), Kevin Taylor (trombone, accordion), Sarah Zar (musical saw, painting, graphic design), Kate Campbell (trumpet, film), Rob Meyer (trombone, horticulture), and Daniel J. Gerstle of HELO Magazine(bass, guitar, literature, photography). Former members include

Stefan Zeniuk Stefan Zeniuk is a New York City based musician and filmmaker. Often seen performing on the saxophones, clarinet, and bass clarinet he is noted for his stage presence. He currently heads up Gato Loco, and is also a member of Maxim Bass with Ro ...

Taylor Galassi Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) **List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) Pla ...

, and others. The band has released two albums: Victor'', and ''Dark Side of the Bee''. They include the singles "Yulix", "Back Off America", and "Mouthful of Diamonds." In 2010, the band performed both at the SXSW Festival and Punk Island NYC.

Shayfer James

Shayfer James is a self-titled singer/ songwriter project. Shayfer James' recent performances have been in New York, New Orleans, and Hong Kong. "When Shayfer James approaches the piano, there is a certain power and mischievous charm that surrounds him. A bewitching sense of foreboding builds as his fingers touch the piano, and as he begins to sing, we are immersed in his darkly lyrical and evocative stories. His wry poetry is stitched seamlessly to peculiar arrangements that are simultaneously unsettling and familiar. Mr. James lures us into a devious world where the gods tear wings from angels and every man has a siren waiting to devour him." Current members of Shayfer James include Dusty Bones (drums, percussion), Jeremy Gillespie (bass, vocals), Dante Portella (organ), with occasional appearances by Sarah Zar (musical saw, backing vocals) and Peter Horn (violin).

Torcher Chamber Ensemble

The Torcher Chamber Ensemble is a collection of predominantly classically trained musicians. They play their own compositions and arrangements in the style of a classical chamber ensemble (having a brass and strings section). The members of The Torcher Chamber Ensemble consist of Kevin Taylor, Russell Lynch, Sarah Zar, Kate Campbell, Robert Meyer, Michael Cuttitta, and

Jack Noble Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

Art

Sarah Zar is an interdisciplinary artist, currently perched in Brooklyn, NY*. Her work has appeared in places ( Sloan Fine Art, Denise Bibro Fine Art, Janet Kurnatowski Gallery, Sideshow Gallery under bridges and on boats, The Highline Ballroom, and so on) and sensory organs around the world. Her paintings have received numerous awards in NY, and her other visual works range from installations, drawings, collages and sculptures to spatial design and letters to strangers. She is currently teaching Contemporary Art and Aesthetics at Montclair State University. *This means that Sarah Zar is a northern-dwelling, migratory "bird". It traditionally creates novels by painting, and their titles and relationships are nomadic. This species is noted for its colorful use of dream logic.

Writing

Sarah Zar's writing was first published by

Norm Davis Norman Joseph Davis (4 August 1904 – 26 August 1966) was an Australian rules footballer who played with North Melbourne in the Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Austr ...

in Hazmat Literary Review in 1998, and has appeared in print and in person since then in publications and writing events such as: * Zar, Sarah, and Charles Whymper. Riddled With Spots. 1st ed. New York: A. Keck, NY. Print. * ONandOnScreen * The Kelly Writers House, Where she was a Featured Visitor (Subject: "The language of technology in contemporary post-modern fiction for 'After David Foster Wallace'")

Awards

*Graduate Citation – Montclair State University *First Place in the Fence Select Exhibition, Arts Center of Troy – Troy, NY *The Roanne Kulakoff Award for Painting – Albany, NY *Art Departmental Award for Drawing and Painting – S.U.N.Y. Albany *Presidential Scholarship and University Honors Scholarship – S.U.N.Y. Albany *Bradley Smith Art Purchase Award for Sculpture – Rochester, NY *Grant for a 2-year Caste Drawing Apprenticeship with Lori Harpole – Rochester, NY

References

External links

Gallery * Sarah Zar

Sarah Zar , Other from Brooklyn, NY

Yula and the eXtended Family music, videos, stats, and photos

Shayfer James
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zar, Sarah 20th-century American painters 21st-century American painters Living people American women songwriters American performance artists Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) American women painters 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American women artists