Laurie Anderson will receive an honorary degree from the Rhode Island School of Design at the school's Commencement ceremony this year, Saturday, May 31, when she will also deliver the commencement address. According to RISD's website (via mediabistro), "Honorary degrees are conferred upon exceptional individuals who have made groundbreaking contributions to the world of art and design." Other recipients of the 2008 degrees include Yo-Yo Ma and Ed Ruscha.
Laurie is currently making her way across the States with her Homeland tour, with a performance at Royce Hall in Los Angeles tonight before she heads to Boulder this Saturday. Westword, out of Denver, has an in-depth Q&A with Laurie, in which she discusses politics, the changing meaning(s) of the word "homeland," and the corporatization of America.
"It's that kind of stuff that really fascinates me," she states. "It's an overall direction that things are going in, and when I try to put that into work, I also try to put it into a context of seeing it in a different way, rather than haranguing people about some sort of social science lesson."
To read the full interview, visit blogs.westword.com.
After the Colorado show, Homeland will move on to Madison, Wisconsin, and two nights in Chicago before heading to Europe at the end of the month. Laurie and her band will perform at the Barbican in London for four nights, April 30 to May 3. Previewing the event, The Guardian's John O'Mahony spoke with her about the show and some unexpected protests it brought in Boston at the March 29 performance there.
"I was literally shocked," she tells O'Mahony. "With everything that's been going on, it has been impossible to avoid putting politics in this work. On the one hand, I was pleased I was provoking a response. But before I was pleased, I was very surprised. I thought, 'This is not at all controversial.'"
To read the article, visit music.guardian.co.uk.
