Blank Forms 08: Transmissions from the Pleroma

Jerry Hunt (1943–1993) has been described as a shamanic figure with the look of a Central Texas meat inspector. One of the most compelling composers in the world of late twentieth-century new music, he made work that combined video synthesis, installation art, and early computers with rough-hewn sculptures, scores drawn from celestial alphabets, and homemade electronics activated by his signature wands and impassioned gestures. Hunt lived his entire life in Texas, eventually settling in a house (“an interactive environment”) he built with his partner, Stephen Housewright, in a rural area outside Canton, but his pataphysical, abrasive, and humorous performances took him across North America and Europe, where he amassed a small but dedicated following.

This volume, accompanying an exhibition of the same title, represents the first ever book-length collection devoted to the underknown composer’s work, and includes a biographical essay by Tyler Maxin and Lawrence Kumpf, interviews with and essays by Hunt, and detailed analyses of his visual art, and reflections from his friends and collaborators. Contributors include art historian Kris Paulsen, composers Guy De Bièvre, George Lewis, David Rosenboom, Gordon Monahan,  and artist Karen Finley.