Barbara Adler

Call Me Black Wolf: a musical essay

Call Me Black Wolf: a musical essay

David Newberry and Barbara Adler tell the story of Ernest Thompson Seton and the Natures Fakers Controversy, using music, fiction and the sweet voices of many wolves.

Article by David Newberry. Composition by Barbara Adler, with musical performances by James Meger and David Newberry. Story performed by David Newberry and Barbara Adler. Instruments recorded by James Meger at SlugBait Studios. I am writing this on a train that they call The Canadian. It is taking me and my suitcase from Vancouver, where […]

 Barbara Adler

Welcome to the Johnny Horton Remix

Welcome to the Johnny Horton Remix

In this installment of Klasika, Barbara Adler gives us a taste of some of the music she’s working on as part of her year-long, multidisciplinary art project inspired by Czech tramping.

In Klasika, Barbara uses the Czech fascination with the American Wild West to explore themes of adaptation, appropriation, fiction and thievery. As part of this work, The Johnny Horton Remix project takes these themes and makes them danceable. For Barbara and her musical collaborators, Ten Thousand Wolves, the remix is an opportunity for music to […]

 Barbara Adler

Hey you, it’s me

Hey you, it’s me

 Story and audio recording by Barbara Adler. Photographs by Jirka Matousek and Míša. After posting “My Cowbojsky Boty,” Barbara Adler returned to Czech Republic, cast as a character in Czech Country, a documentary about Czech tramping which is also the subject of her year-long, multidisciplinary art project Klasika. Her return to Canada’s west coast brings […]

 Barbara Adler

My Cowbojsky Boty

My Cowbojsky Boty

Or, "How to Own it When You Don't Own It."

Writing by Barbara Adler Illustrations by Brit Bachmann Photography by Barbara Adler and Ash Tanasiychuk Videos by Ash Tanasiychuk “A cowboy without a horse just wants to get to where they’re going.” This summer, I picked up that piece of cowboy philosophy by wandering – horseless — through the Czech countryside in a pair of […]

 Barbara Adler

Permanent Deviation

Permanent Deviation

Happy accidents and the transformative power of coding

Written by Barbara Adler Interview conducted by Barbara Adler, video recorded and edited by Harley Spade On March 14th, a new, interactive public artwork will launch at VIVO Media Arts. Permanent Deviation is an online project that allows the public to create artworks using computer code. The launch party will feature public coding stations connected […]

 Barbara Adler

Burn (Out) Resistant: Interview with Katheryn Petersen

Burn (Out) Resistant: Interview with Katheryn Petersen

Barbara Adler speaks with the Accordion Noir Festival’s general manager and co-artistic director

Words by Barbara Adler All images courtesy the artists Katheryn Petersen, known to many as accordion performer Salmon Avalanche, is also Accordion Noir Festival’s general manager and co-artistic director. On any given day leading up to this year’s festival, her duties include (but are not limited to): finagling show line ups, wrangling liquor licenses, sweet […]