koizumi

Created by MASARY, MF Dynamics, & Jean Laurenz

2019 - Cambridge, Massachusetts

Part chamber music, part theater, part visual art, this touring performance piece explores the life and work of Lafcadio Hearn, a 19th century folklorist and writer. Obsessed with the morbid and outlandish, he awakened the magnetic pull of grotesque storytelling in his contributions to American journalism, and in his interpretation of Japanese folk stories. Most notably, Hearn offered a literary perspective through the ghostly spirit world of Old Japan, and gave a journalistic voice to marginalized societies around the globe. Hearn’s overlooked accomplishments deserve to be uncovered, and the vastness of his contributions will optimally manifest on a multisensory platform.

“Koizumi” - Hearn’s adopted Japanese family name - features Jean Laurenz, Hearn’s Great-Great-Grand-Niece, on trumpet and vocals. Together with MASARY’s Maria Finkelmeier on marimba, percussion, and keyboard, Ryan Edwards on drum set and electronics, and Sam Okerstrom-Lang on visuals and lighting, the quartet explores Hearn’s life and artistic output, realizing his multidimensional contributions through a blended performance of digital light and sound. Through original composition and projection art, the team highlights how Hearn married cultural perspectives with literary astuteness, becoming a leader in social justice and cultural preservation.

Commissioned by Jean Laurenz with support from the University of Wisconsin
Premiered at Harvard ARTLab
Music by Maria Finkelmeier & Ryan Edwards

Photos by Aram Boghosian