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30 years of audiovisual collaboration by Neil Leonard and Magdalena Campos
December 1, 2018


Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons and Neil Leonard created 29 audiovisual works together. By the time they met in 1988, Leonard was already creating sound for video and performances by Tony Oursler, Constance De Jong and Sam Durant. Leonard created electroacoustic compositions for Campos-Pons’ first film and video, Rito de Iniciación (1988) and Baño Sagrado (1990). Since 2010, all of Leonard and Campos' large scale pieces were co-credited, such as installations and performances for the 11 Bienal de Havana, Guggenheim Museum, Smithsonian Institute National Portrait Gallery, 55th Venice Biennale and documenta 14, for which they developed thematic material, curators relations and explored sites as a team.
An illustrated version of this document is available upon request.
CO-AUTHORED WORKS
Commission, concept, execution co-credited Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons and Neil Leonard
1. Bar Matanzas (2017)
Pavilion by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons and Neil Leonard
Visual:
• Graphic and interior design
• Single channel video
• Backlit paintings on textile
• furniture by Cuban designer Clara Porsete
Sound:
• Ten live performances by Leonard with Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, Phill Niblock, Amnon Wolman, Ali Moraly
• 2-channel video score comprising Leonard’s alto saxophone, Cuban field recordings and voices by members of Los Muñequitos de Matanzas
• Pavilion acoustical design
Commissioned by documenta 14; Curated by Adam Szymczyk and Monika Szewczyk
2. Matanzas Sound Map (2017)
Installation by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons and Neil Leonard
Sculpture: Cast glass, blown glass, handmade paper, coconut tree bark, coconuts shells, Calea stone
Sound: 10-channel composition comprising Leonard’s alto saxophone, Cuban field recordings and voices by members of Los Muñequitos de Matanzas
Duration circa: 16:00
Commissioned by documenta 14; Curated by Adam Szymczyk and Monika Szewczyk
3. Matanzas (2017)
Video by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons and Neil Leonard
Images: Campos-Pons and Leonard shot at the Robert Rauschenberg Residency, Captiva, Florida
Sound: 2-channel video score comprising Leonard’s alto saxophone, Cuban field recordings and voices by members of Los Muñequitos de Matanzas
Video editing: Leonard
Duration circa: 6:00
Premiered in Screen Compositions 13, Experimental Intermedia Studio, NYC
Curated by Katherine Liberovskaya
4. Identified (2016)
Performance by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons and Neil Leonard
Performance/spoken word:
• Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons
• Monifa Love
• Dell Hamilton
• Helina Metaferia
Sound for three ensembles in discreet galleries:
• saxophone, trumpet, keyboard, 3 congas (Kogod Couryard)
• jazz orchestra (flanking spiral stairway from 1st to 3rd floor)
• 3 vocal, 3 bata (3rd floor gallery)
Music performed by:
• Neil Leonard – soprano/alto saxophones, electronics, composer
• Terence Blanchard - trumpet
• Oriente Lopez percussion/flute/piano
• Ramon Garcia Perez “Sandy"
• Lázaro Cárdenas Batel -percussion
• Vanessa Fredrickson voice
• Oscar Rousseaux -Cuban percussionist / vocalist
• Randy Rosso-Cuban percussionist / vocalist
• Ernesto Gattel - percussion
• Frank Williams- percussionist
• Duke Ellington School Jazz Band
Duration circa: 40:00
Commissioned by Smithsonian Institute National Portrait Gallery, Washington D.C; Curated by Dorothy Moss.
5. Alchemy of the Soul (2016)
Installation by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons and Neil Leonard
Sculpture: Cast glass, blown glass, glass running fountain
Sound: 10-channel composition comprising Leonard’s saxophone, Cuban field recordings and chants by Los Muñequitos de Matanzas
Duration circa: 11:00
Commissioned and purchased by Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA; Curated by Josh Basseches.
6. Agridulce (Bittersweet) (2016)
Performance by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons and Neil Leonard
Sound performed by:
Neil Leonard - soprano and alto saxophones, composer
Oriente Lopez – keyboard, percussion
Sandy Perez –percussion
Ernesto Diaz –percussion (January 9)
Yusnier Sanchez Bustamante –percussion (January, 21)
Vanessa Lindberg – voice
Duration circa: 15:00
Commissioned by Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA; Curated by Josh Basseches
7. Conversando (2014)
Processional performance by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons and Neil Leonard
Sound: Performed by Leonard with Brazilian folkloric musicians.
Commissioned by the 3ª Bienal da Bahia; Curated by Ana Pato.
8. Habla Madre (2014)
Processional performance by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons and Neil Leonard
Performance/spoken word: Campos Pons, Natasha Diggs
Music performed by:
Neil Leonard - bass clarinet, composer
Jen Baker - trombone
Monique Buzzarté - trombone
Dick Griffin - trombone
Kiane Zawadi - euphonium
Jay Rozen - tuba
Joseph Daley - tuba
Oriente Lopez - percussion, flute
Roman Diaz - percussion, voice
Diego Lopez - bata, voice
Duration circa 30:00
Premiered in the rotunda of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NY for Carrie Mae Weems, Past Tense, Future Perfect; Curated by Carrie Mae Weems
9. Rosa de los Vientos, Rose of the Winds (2013)
Processional performance by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons and Neil Leonard
Sound performed by:
Neil Leonard – soprano/alto saxophones, composer
Oriente Lopez - bata, flute
Mauricio Herrera - bata, voice
Roman Diaz - bata, voice
Premiered by the Queens Museum of Art, NY; Curated by Rachel Weingeist
10. 53+1=54+1=55. Letter of the Year (2013)
Installation by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons and Neil Leonard
Sculpture: 100 rattan bird cages; 55 media players for audio and video; 80 bamboo sticks; 18 custom designed audio speakers
Sound: 18-channel non-repeating sound composition based on Cuban field recordings of street criers (Pregoneros) by Leonard
Commissioned by Cuban Pavilion, 55th Venice Biennale, Italy; Curated by Jorge Fernandez and Giacomo Zaza
11. Fefa (2013)
Processional performance by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons and Neil Leonard
Sound performed by
Neil Leonard, soprano saxophone, composer
Jason Lim, violin
Feliciano Arango, bass, voice, percussion, composer
Eugenio Arango, voice, percussion
Cristina Arango, voice, percussion
Commissioned by Cuban Pavilion, 55th Venice Biennale, Italy; Curated by Jorge Fernandez and Giacomo Zaza.
12. Llego Fefa (2012)
Performance by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons and Neil Leonard
Sound: Pregonero (street crier) completion at Centro Wifredo Lam
11 Bienal de Habana, Curated by Jorge Fernandez
13. Llego Fefa (2012)
Processional performance by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons and Neil Leonard
Sound: saxophone and Pregoneros (street criers)
11 Bienal de Habana on Havana Malecon (Detras del Muro), Curated by Juanito Delgado
14. 1470 MB (2010)
Performance by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons and Neil Leonard
Sound: performance by four Pregoneros (street criers)
Casa Las Americas, Havana, Cuba
COLLABORATIVE WORKS
Works by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons in collaboration with by Neil Leonard
1. Llego FeFa.Remedios II (2018)
Performance by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons with sound by Neil Leonard
Sound: electronic sound composition
Colby College, Maine
2. Cuba Walk (2012)
Single channel silent video by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons and Neil Leonard
Camera and video editing by Neil Leonard
Shot on Malecon, Havana, Cuba
3. My Mother Told Me I Am Chinese. China Porcelain (2008)
Installation by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons with sound by Neil Leonard
Sound: 2-channel electroacoustic composition
Davis Museum and Cultural Center, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA
3. My Mother Told Me I Am Chinese. China Porcelain (2008)
Performance by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons with sound by Neil Leonard
Sound: 2-channel live electroacoustic composition
Davis Museum and Cultural Center, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA
4. Paul Robeson Installation (2007)
Installation by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons with sound by Neil Leonard
Visual: custom designed wallpaper, video
Sound: Recording of Leonard performing solo bass clarinet composition
Paul Robeson Home, Philadelphia, PA
5. Sono Qui (I Am Here) (2006)
Performance by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons with sound by Neil Leonard
Music performed by:
Neil Leonard – alto/soprano saxophones, composer
Gadi Sassoon - laptop/turntables
Ernestico Rodriguez - Cuban percussion
Galleria Pack, Milan, Italy
6. Interiorita o Luna Sulla Colina (2003)
Permanent outdoor mixed media installation by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons with sound by Neil Leonard
Sculpture: alabaster spheres, backlight with text by César Vallejo, video
Sound: 2-channel electroacoustic composition with text by César Vallejo
Duration circa: 12:00
Commissioned by La Marrana di Montemarcello, Italy; Curated by Salah Hassan and Gabi Scardi.
7. Mil Maneras Para Decir Adios/Threads of Memory (2002)
Installation by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons with sound by Neil Leonard
Sculpture: five-screen video installation, cast cut polymer resin, mild steel, rebar
Sound: 2-channel electroacoustic composition
Duration circa: 7:00
Commissioned by Sonia Henie Onstad Museum, Oslo, Norway; Curated by Selene Wendt.
8. Meanwhile the Girls Were Playing (2000)
Installation by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons with sound by Neil Leonard
Sculpture: metallic organdy, silk, embroidered fabric, pâte de verre flowers. four projected video tracks
Sound: 4-channel non-repeating electroacoustic composition
Commissioned by MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge, MA; Curated by Jennifer Riddell
9. Spoken Softly with Mama (1998)
Installation by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons with sound by Neil Leonard
Sculpture: embroidered sild and organza over ironing boards with photographic transfers, embroidered cotton sheets, pâte de verre irons and trivets, wooden benches, six projected video tracks
Sound: 4-channel non-repeating electroacoustic composition
Commissioned by Museum of Modern Art, NYC, NY. Curated by Sally Berger; Collection of National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Canada
10. History of People Who Were Not Heroes: A Town Portrait (1994)
Installation by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons with sound by Neil Leonard
Sculpture: wood, glass, steel, clay tablets, black-and-white photographs, 3-channel video
Sound: 2-channel electroacoustic composition
Bunting Institute of Radcliffe College, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
11. The Herbalists Tools (1994)
Installation by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons with sound by Neil Leonard
Sculpture: acrilic on wood, photographs, aluminum casserole pans, corn meal, machetes, etched glass bowls, pressed word, live plants, fresh herbs
Sound: 2-channel electroacoustic composition
Commissioned by Maryland Institute College of Art
12. Baño Sagrado (1990)
Single channel video by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons with sound by Neil Leonard
Video: Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons
Sound: composition for alto saxophone, bells, clay flute, interactive music system by Leonard
Duration circa: 31:00
Commissioned by the Wester Front, Vancouver, Canada; Curated by Kate Craig
13. Rite of Initiation (1988)
Single channel film by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons with sound by Neil Leonard
Film: Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons
Sound: electroacoustic composition for Super 8 film by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons
Duration circa: 10:00
14. A Woman at the border/Una Mujer en la Frontera (1989)
Invitation card for exhibition by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons designed by Neil Leonard
SOHO 20 Gallery, New York, NY
Work by Neil Leonard in collaboration with Maria-Magdalena Campos-Pons
1. Reverberations II (2016)
Performance by Neil Leonard and Rudresh Mahanthappa with Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons
Music performed by:
Neil Leonard, soprano/alto saxophones, live electronics, compositions
Rudresh Mahanthappa, soprano/alto saxophones, live electronics, compositions
Video by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons
Duration circa 40:00
Premiered at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum; Curated by Pieranna Cavalchini.