Harvestworks is a

not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

arts organization located in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. It was founded in 1977 by artists supporting the creation and presentation of art works achieved through the use of new technologies. The Harvestworks TEAM Lab (Technology, Engineering, Art and Music) supports the creation of art works achieved through the use of new and evolving technologies.

History

Founded in 1977 by

Gregory Kramer Gregory Paul Kramer (born 14 October 1952, in Los Angeles, California), is a composer, researcher, inventor, meditation teacher and author. In 1975 he co-founded Electronic Musicmobile, a pioneer synthesizer ensemble later renamed Electronic Art Ens ...

and Gerald Lindahl, Harvestworks has helped many generations of artists to create new work by providing an environment for experimentation with project consultants, technicians, instructors and innovative practitioners in all branches of the

electronic art Electronic art is a form of art that makes use of electronic media. More broadly, it refers to technology and/or electronic media. It is related to information art, new media art, video art, digital art, interactive art, internet art, and electr ...

s. Harvestworks has presented many

experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

concerts and is the sponsor of the

Tellus Audio Cassette Magazine Launched from the Lower East Side, Manhattan in 1983 as a subscription only bimonthly publication, the ''Tellus Audio Cassette Magazine'' utilized the audio cassette medium to distribute no wave downtown music and audio art and was in activity ...

project. The Interactive Technology Project offers a laboratory-like setting for the development of interactive computer environments, installations and instruments that foster new modes of perception and performance. In 2014, Harvestworks in collaboration with

Vox Novus Vox Novus is a New York City-based organization consisting of composers, musicians, and music enthusiasts which presents and supports new music. Vox Novus was founded by Robert Voisey to promote contemporary composers in 2000. This organization ...

created the first

60x60 60x60 is a collection of 60 electroacoustic or acousmatic works from 60 different composers/artists, each work 60 seconds or less in duration. 60x60 project showcases sixty new works, each sixty seconds or less, by sixty composers in a continuous ...

5.1 Surround Sound Mix presented by curator Hans Tammen. 60x60 presented previously only in

stereo Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

audio, this collaboration was the first mix to utilize 5.1 surround sound.

Studio PASS

At the inception of Harvestworks, the Public Access Synthesizer Studio (PASS) provided access to electronic synthesizer instruments, and continues as part of Harvestworks' TEAM Lab. In 1986, the studio included “a Fairlight, a Roland Super Jupiter, an

E-mu Emulator II The Emulator is a series of digital sampling synthesizers using floppy disk storage, manufactured by E-mu Systems from 1981 until 2002. Though not the first commercial sampler, the Emulator was among the first to find wide use among ordinary m ...

, a

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

TX816 rack,

Apple IIe The Apple IIe (styled as Apple //e) is the third model in the Apple II series of personal computers produced by Apple Computer. The ''e'' in the name stands for ''enhanced'', referring to the fact that several popular features were now built-in ...

and Macintosh computers, an Otari eight-track recorder, and a few video recorders, as well as the services of a staff engineer.” Studio PASS changed its name in the early 80s. It is now the sound studio available to independent producers, musicians and artists in residence at Harvestworks. Originally, Studio PASS was located in the

Flatiron District The Flatiron District is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, named after the Flatiron Building at 23rd Street, Broadway and Fifth Avenue. Generally, the Flatiron District is bounded by 14th Street, Union Square and Green ...

in Manhattan at 16 west 22 St. It moved to its current home along with the rest of Harvestworks at 596 Broadway in 1987. The board of directors has included people such as

Bob Moog Robert Arthur Moog ( ; May 23, 1934 – August 21, 2005) was an American engineer and electronic music pioneer. He was the founder of the synthesizer manufacturer Moog Music and the inventor of the first commercial synthesizer, the Moog synthesi ...

and

Suzanne Ciani Suzanne Ciani (; born June 4, 1946) is an American musician, sound designer, composer, and record label executive who found early success in the 1970s with her electronic music and sound effects for films and television commercials. Her career ha ...

Major projects and events

Harvestworks has sponsored a number of events and projects over the years. In 1983, the

was created. The 5th and 6th issues of the magazine in 1984 were compiled into a double issue curated by

Claudia Gould Claudia Gould is an art curator and the Helen Goldsmith Menschel Director of The Jewish Museum in New York City. Life and work Claudia Gould was born and raised near New Haven, Connecticut. She had a Jewish father and a Roman Catholic mother. She ...

Joseph Nechvatal Joseph Nechvatal (born January 15, 1951) is an American post-conceptual digital artist and Aesthetics, art theoretician who creates computer-assisted paintings and computer animations, often using custom-created computer viruses. Life and work ...

and Carol Parkinson. The magazine featured

Louise Lawler Louise Lawler (born 1947) is a U.S. artist and photographer living in Brooklyn, New York.Louise Lawler ...

Richard Prince Richard Prince (born 1949) is an American painter and photographer. In the mid-1970s, Prince made drawings and painterly collages that he has since disowned. His image, ''Untitled (Cowboy)'', a rephotographing of a photograph by Sam Abell and ...

, Perry Hoberman,

David Wojnarowicz David Michael Wojnarowicz ( (September 14, 1954 – July 22, 1992) was an American painter, photographer, writer, filmmaker, performance artist, songwriter/recording artist, and AIDS activist prominent in the East Village art scene. He incorp ...

Barbara Barg Barbara Barg (April 29, 1947 — May 22, 2018) was a poet, writer, and musician. Barg was born in Memphis, Tennessee and raised in Forrest City, Arkansas. After studying with poet Ted Berrigan at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, she m ...

Barbara Ess Barbara Ess (born Barbara Eileen Schwartz; April 4, 1944 – March 4, 2021) was an American photographer. She often used a pinhole camera and was known for her No Wave musical and editorial work. Education Ess earned a B.A. at the University of ...

and

Rhys Chatham Rhys Chatham (born September 19, 1952) is an American composer, guitarist, trumpet player, multi-instrumentalist (flutes in C, alto and bass, keyboard), primarily active in avant-garde and minimalism, minimalist music. He is best known for his "g ...

amongst others. In 1987, Harvestworks had its first major show, the Soundwave Exhibition, curated by Gerald Lindahl and Bill and Mary Buchen and exhibited in the former City Gallery at 2 Columbus Circle. In 1992, the first usergroup for the programming language MAX was established at Harvestworks, and an exhibition called “The Interactive Show: New Audio/Video Installation Works” was presented at the Threadwaxing Space.

New York Electronic Arts Festival

NYEAF (New York Electronic Arts Festival) is a biennial new media electronic arts festival produced by Harvestworks centered on Governor’s Island. It started in 2007 and has operated in multiple locations across New York City, often at the same time.

Notes

External links

* {{Authority control Culture of New York City Non-profit organizations based in New York City New media art festivals