Collection of Tim Blickhan
Tim co-founded the Neoteric and has some of the earliest artifacts. Over time we can expect commentary, too.
Pre-Neoterian Northern
- The First Great Electric Pumpkin Patch
- Northern Illinois University
- 1978
- Tim recalls:
- "This event featured the performance of my A Chicken Will Probably Fall On Your Head During This (Piece) for three players, 150-foot tape loop, 3 tape recorders, and actor. The tape loop can be seen in the upper left of each photo.
- "As I recall...the evening also included a panel discussion that featured, via conference call, [Joseph Pinzarrone's] Delaware colleague from MAMMI (Mid-American Modern Music Institute?), Dick Uranus.
- "The concert was a triggering event in that it led to the creation of the Neoteric Ensemble in the following year."
- Chinary Ung was guest composer at the NIU school of Music 1978—1979.
Edit or comment on it: Blickhan_Collection_0018
Neoteric Ensemble
- Poster, Toujours Perdrix
- Tim Blickhan et al
- Plain paper copy
- 8 1/2 x 11 inches
- November 1980
- © 1980 Tim Blickhan and Joseph Pinzarrone; used with permission
- One of the Ensemble's early performances, and sparest posters. Toujours Perdrix was reprised many times over the group's active lifetime.
Edit or comment on it: Blickhan_Collection_0000
- Poster, Toujours Perdrix
- Tim Blickhan et al
- Plain paper copy
- 8 1/2 x 11 inches
- November 1981
- © 1981 Tim Blickhan and Joseph Pinzarrone; used with permission
- The first reprise of Toujours Perdrix, but not the last.
Edit or comment on it: Blickhan_Collection_0001
- Program, Toujours Perdrix, Millikin University Reprise
- Tim Blickhan, Joseph Pinzarrone, et al
- Plain paper copy
- Two pages, 8 1/2 x 11 inches
- March 1982
- © 1982 Tim Blickhan and Joseph Pinzarrone; used with permission
- The Ensemble presents Toujours Perdrix at Millikin University.
Edit or comment on it: Blickhan_Collection_0002
- Poster, #@¢* Art…Let's Dance
- D A Ayer
- Screen Print on poster board
- 18 x 28 inches
- April 1982
- © 1982 D A Ayer
- Another Neoteric Ensemble guest appearance during the Toujours Perdrix touring era.
Edit or comment on it: Blickhan_Collection_0017
- Program, Let's Put Music in Its Place Series
- Tim Blickhan and the Neoteric Ensmeble
- Plain paper copy
- Two pages, 8 1/2 x 11 inches
- April 1982
- © 1982 the Neoteric Ensemble; used with permission
- Note photos of the signature "Toujours Perdrix" regalia, created by Patricia Smith of West End Costumes. Excerpts from this concert can be heard on the "Dogs Will Rave" cassette.
Edit or comment on it: Blickhan_Collection_0003
- Handbill and Apologia, Toujours Perdrix
- Tim Blickhan and Joseph Pinzarrone
- Plain paper copy
- 8 1/2 x 11 inches
- July 1982
- © 1982 Tim Blickhan and Joseph Pinzarrone; used with permission
- The Ensemble's program (front) and apologia/broadside (reverse) from the Chicago Navy Pier performance of Toujours Perdrix without, alas, the Synapticon.
Edit or comment on it: Blickhan_Collection_0004
- Photo roll, New Music America '82
- Tim Blickhan et al
- Black and white photos
- 35 mm
- July 1982
- © 1982 Tim Blickhan; used with permission
- The New Music America Festival was held annually during the 1980 decade, and was not without controversy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Music_America). The Neoteric Ensemble prepared its signature piece, "Toujours Perdrix," with the City of Chicago's contractual caveat (see inset on handbill, above) in mind. The combination of the work's "open-mic" format (uncensored dialogue was fed to the performers by the audience) and the Apologia regarding the non-performance of E.X. Rator's "Synapticon" was too much for the local organizers, and the ensemble was asked to leave after the first performance (two were scheduled). That being said, everyone but the Chicago art police had a great time.
Edit or comment on it: Blickhan_Collection_0022
File:Cafe Concert 3 December 1982.mp3
- Audio, Café Concert
- Neoteric Ensemble and guests
- Audio (ripped from 1/8" stereo cassette tape)
- 28' 53"
- December 1982
- Northern Illinois University
- An early experiment involving sound and food. Tim's recollection of this recording:
- "The Café concert recording was made by Jan Bach at his table. His dinner party consisted of Jan Bach, his daughters Eva and Dawn, and Paul Steg."
- It is notable that the concert involved the use of recording equipment and skirted the usual School of Music prohibition of recording equipment. The phrase de riguer for recital programs was "The use of cameras or personal tape recorders during performances is expressly prohibited." The Neoteric would flout this routinely throughout their first decade.
Edit or comment on it: Blickhan_Collection_0019
- Newpaper Advertisement, Cafe Concert
- Tim Blickhan, et al
- Newsprint
- 3 X 6 inches (approx.)
- December 1982
- Northern Illinois University
- © 1982 C T Blickhan and the Northern Star
- Patrons had to telephone ahead for reservations. Once seated, a full musical meal could be ordered from the extensive menu (soup, salad, entree, dessert), which was then performed at the table. Electronic cocktails were available at the bar for patrons who did not wish to dine (or who showed up without a reservation). Note that proper attire was required.
Edit or comment on it: Blickhan_Collection_0023
- Poster, Tales of Power
- D A Ayer
- Screen print on poster board
- 22 x 28 inches
- April 1983
- © 1983 D A Ayer and Joseph Pinzarrone
- Tim has the all-black version.
Edit or comment on it: Blickhan_Collection_0016
- Poster, Absolutely not a Festival
- D A Ayer
- Screen print on poster board
- 14 x 22"
- November 13, 1983
- © 1983 D A Ayer
- Not only a poster, but available for sale as a tee shirt in the lobby, along with other Neoteric items at the "Selling Out" concert in April, 1984. See Ayer Collection 0003. For a number of years, the NIU Student Association provided funding for the annual College of Visual and Performing Arts Fine Arts Festival. Abruptly, in 1983, they chose to no longer provide support, effectively killing the festival. It seemed like a good idea to make sure that Neoteric's SA funding was maintained, hence the "Absolutely Not A Festival" clarification.
Edit or comment on it: Blickhan_Collection_0014
- Program, Ensemble Performance Series
- Joseph Pinzarrone, Tim Blickhan, et al
- Plain paper copy
- 8 1/2 x 11 inches
- November 1983
- Northern Illinois University, College of Visual and Performing Arts
- This is the full four pages of the program also shown at Ayer Collection 0001. A program from 1983 lists the members of the day. Three additional pages reproduced the scored instructions for Mark Bobak's and Erik Deerly's featured works along with Margaret Atwood's Against Still Life.
- We'll hope copyright hawks will view this as fair use, given the NIU affiliation at the time.
Edit or comment on it: Blickhan_Collection_0005
- Poster, A Manifesto: Set Music Free
- Steve Hansen, Cathy Church
- Plain paper copy
- 8 1/2 x 11 inches
- March 1984
- For a while, the Ensemble made guest appearances at the required Senior Recital performances of upper-class members. The practice died down after 1984.
Edit or comment on it: Blickhan_Collection_0006
- Audio, DOGS WILL RAVE, Side A
- Neoteric Ensemble
- Audio (ripped from 1/8" stereo cassette tape)
- 18' 40"
- April 1984
- © 1981—1984 the Neoteric Ensemble
- Tim managed to unearth a copy of the DOGS WILL RAVE promo cassette from Selling Out and rip it to MP3. As he points out, the B-side is the A-side in reverse; recreation of the B-side by conversion and reposting are left as exercises for the (wiki) reader.
See the cover.
Edit or comment on it: Blickhan_Collection_0020
- Program, ArtBus
- Neoteric Ensemble et al
- Plain paper copy
- 8 1/2 x 11 inches
- November 1985
- Northern Illinois University, College of Visual and Performing Arts
- This was the program handout for the ArtBus performance. See also Ayer Collection 0011.
Edit or comment on it: Blickhan_Collection_0007
- Newspaper article, ArtBus interview
- Mike Solley, The Northern Star, Northern Illinois University
- Newsprint
- 3 x 6 inches (approx.)
- November 1985
- © 1985 The Northern Star, Northern Illinois University
- "Spokesmen" Tim Blickhan and Joe Pinzarrone were interviewed prior to the Artbus concert. Among the many insights in this article, "Everybody is a performer, even though they may not know it," and "The event is free, but seating is limited."
Edit or comment on it: Blickhan_Collection_0008
- Audience bus passes for ArtBus
- The Neoteric Ensemble, et al
- Plain paper copies
- Each 4 1/4 x 2 3/4 inches (approx.)
- November 1985
- © 1985 The Neoteric Ensemble; used with permission
- These were real buses, and they required real passes to board.
Edit or comment on it: Blickhan_Collection_0009
- Flyer, 5/5: 11th Annual Juried Show of Illinois Artists
- Randolph Street Gallery et al
- Plain paper copy
- 8 1/2 x 11 inches
- December 1985
- The Randolph Street Gallery flyer with the Ensemble's appearance highlighted. See also Ayer Collection 0023.
Edit or comment on it: Blickhan_Collection_0010
- Program, Relâche
- The Neoteric Ensemble, et al
- Plain paper copy
- 8 1/2 x 11 inches
- April 1986
- The full program from the 1986 performance. Note Some Old Music is Still Worth Performing Recital Series in the header. Tim provided the scholarly commentary.
Edit or comment on it: Blickhan_Collection_0011
- Newspaper advertisements, Relâche
- D A Ayer
- Newsprint
- Dimensions somewhat vague
- April 1986
- © 1986 D A Ayer and the Northern Star
- These ads ran in the campus paper the week of the Relâche performance.
Edit or comment on it: Blickhan_Collection_0012
- Prop from Relâche: a Piece for Dogs
- Tim Blickhan et al
- Altered take-out bucket
- 12 pieces
- April 1986
- The official banquet food of academic fools the world over. This may be the only bucket to survive the fear, chaos, and rampant destruction of the evening as the audience rose to the historic occasion and reenacted the riots of a previous evening in Paris, 1924.
- See also Ayer_Collection_0029.
Edit or comment on it: Blickhan_Collection_0015
- Newspaper article, Relâche
- Margy Otigara, reporter, for the Northern Star
- Newsprint
- © 1986 The Northern Star, Northern Illinois University
- Maybe you thought we were kidding about rioting and mayhem? Here is corroboration from an unbiased, independent source (i.e., not a member of the Ensemble):
- "Artistic conventions are being attacked and destroyed at NIU by the Neoteric Ensemble...."
- How cool is that?
Edit or comment on it: Blickhan_Collection_0021
- Program, Toujours Perdrix
- Tim Blickhan et al
- Plain paper copy
- 8 1/2 x 11 inches
- February 1989
- © 1981—1989 Tim Blickhan, Joseph Pinzarrone, and the Neoteric Ensemble; used with permission
- Could this be the last ever reprise of Toujours Perdrix?
Edit or comment on it: Blickhan_Collection_0013