New-age art form comes to hall

A performance coming to Memorial Hall this Friday defies definition.

Part music, part cinema, part movement, it is an amalgam of media and a collage of history.

Titled "Rebirth of a Nation," the performance is a live remixing of the 1915 racist film, "Birth of a Nation," a notorious story that prominently features the Ku Klux Klan.

Paul Miller, whose stage name is DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid, is the man behind the performance. A hip-hop artist and author, Miller said "Rebirth of a Nation" challenges audiences to blend together ideas of the past and present.

He said breaking up "Birth of a Nation" and manipulating it like a record makes it possible for multiple perspectives in the story to collide, forcing audiences to choose for themselves which ones to trust.

Miller said he first happened upon the idea of remixing "Birth of a Nation" during the 2000 presidential election, which he described as "a very tense situation."

"I realized that 'Birth of a Nation' was one of the first films to show a flawed election, and it just sparked something - I was like, 'I just I have to do something.'"

Miller's performance is the first installment of the "Urban Voices" segment in the Carolina Performing Arts Series at Memorial Hall.

"It's more student-oriented with the thought behind it," said Whitney Martin, a representative from UNC's office of the executive director for the arts. "We wanted to include everyone in the campus community and expose them to something that is a different form of art."

Miller's "Rebirth of a Nation," which has played in cities across America and around the world, has received critical acclaim for its complexity and political themes.

Miller also received note for his album, Drums of Death, released in April. Last year he published a book titled "Rhythm Science," which combines his autobiography with history and music to demonstrate the impact of conceptual art and popular culture in society.

As part of his visit to the campus, he also will give a free lecture at 12:30 p.m. Friday in Kenan Theatre.

Miller said the medium he is working with now is beneficial because it has the ability to bring people together.

"Music is far more of a connection than anything else, and I think that's what DJ culture celebrates," he said. "Here we are in the 21st century and we're more connected than ever."

 

Contact the A&E Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.