Bay Area composer/pianist Motoko Honda will perform pieces responding to the artwork in the exhibition “Lyrics, Gestures and Games” in collaboration with Lyn Hejinian’s poetry reading on Friday, July 7 at 8pm and Saturday, July 8 at 2pm at Kala Gallery.

“Lyrics, Gestures and Games” explores interplay among art-making, chance related process, and guidelines generated by everyday activities and gestures. This exhibition features works by acclaimed Bay Area ceramic artist Jim Melchert, Bay Area/NY/Tokyo based artist Midori Harima, along with Bay Area poet, Lyn Hejinian, combining visual elements, music performances, and a poetry reading.

Lyn Hejinian’s poetry inspires unique lyricism created by repetition of descriptive everyday moments. Her renowned work My Life is composed of titled proses, each built of disjunctive sentences. Many of these sentences reflect on simple, day-to-day activities. Phrases recur and create motifs throughout, opening new meanings to the readers through repetition. Hejinian is a poet, essayist, educator, and translator. Her most recent book is The Unfollowing (Omnidawn Books, 2016). Other volumes include The Book of a Thousand Eyes (Omnidawn Books, 2012) and The Wide Road, written in collaboration with Carla Harryman (Belladonna, 2010). Her honors include a Writing Fellowship from the California Arts Council, a grant from the Poetry Fund, and a Translation Fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts. Hejinian currently teaches at the University of California, Berkeley.

Motoko Honda is a pianist, composer, and sound artist who creates a distinctive sound through her holistic approach to music and connection to other art forms and technologies. With stylistic influences ranging from jazz to Indonesian music to contemporary prepared piano, Honda’s structured improvisations are intended to affect the skin, organs and minds of the listener rather than simple recitations of rhythmic and harmonic themes. Since 1997, Honda has been performing at various national and international festivals and concerts such as Angel City Jazz Festival, 19th San Quirico Estate Festival, and Spark International Electronic Music Festival ranging from classical, contemporary jazz, experimental and electronic music.