![]() He is simply too difficult and disturbing. His life is a documentary or biopic waiting to happen.Įver alien and alienating, the inscrutable Eastman has seemed destined to remain a new music outsider. His music - what is left of it (much is lost, all of it a mess) - requires Herculean reconstruction efforts. Whether through the shocking titles for many of his pieces or his relationships with lovers and cherished colleagues, he challenged so many forms of prejudice.Įastman, who was born in 1940, rose like a comet with spectacular flair and flamed out just as stunningly, dying at 50 in obscurity - homeless and alone. It didn’t matter whether you were white or Black, straight or gay: He had something up his sleeve for any of us. He could be - personally and in his art - lovable and discomfiting. He was proudly and provocatively Black and gay. It would be hard to find an artist who personifies so many issues of our day - Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ rights, homelessness, income inequality, mental health, addiction, you name it.Īn extraordinarily gifted composer, vocalist, pianist, dancer and choreographer, Eastman had a magnetic presence and gripping sense of theater. The growing Julius Eastman revival throughout the new music community in the past few years seems, particularly from hindsight, inevitable.
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