The Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Gallery is pleased to announce that it will host a special spoken-word performance by Los Angeles-based performance artist Brendan Fowler on Thursday, August 28, 2008 at 6:00 p.m.

Fowler’s appearance will coincide with the opening reception for LINE UP, STRIP DOWN, FADE OUT: POLAROID PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEOS BY ANDY WARHOL, GRANT WORTH, AND DAVID HORVITZ, the Gallery’s inaugural exhibition for its 2008–2009 season. The Fine Arts Gallery is located in the Old Gym, at the corner of 23rd and West End Avenues. This performance and accompanying exhibition are free and open to the public. 

Brendan Fowler is best known as the front man for BARR, a “motivational rap project” in which he typically speaks manic first-person soliloquies over sparse free jazz arrangements provided by a three-piece band. Deeply autobiographical, these performances can be jarring and poignant. They are also characterized by an urgency and constant interruption in flow which Fowler says springs from “a deep seeded need to tear at the limits of language itself.” 

Since 2001, BARR has released three albums, toured extensively throughout the United States and Europe, and played at numerous art venues, such as Deitch Projects in New York, Kordansky Gallery in L.A., Art Basel in Miami, and the Frieze Art Fair in London. BARR has also recently signed to Kill Rock Stars, an established independent record label based out of Olympia, Washington. 

It is important to note that this performance will feature Fowler alone, in a rare solo appearance without his backing band. 

In addition to his stage background, Fowler also co-edits Los Angeles-based art publication "ANP Quarterly" with artists Aaron Rose and Ed Templeton, has written articles for ArtForum International Magazine, and co-runs Doggpony Records, an independent record label based in Los Angeles. Free copies of ANP Quarterly are available in the Fine Arts Gallery throughout the year.

Please call (615) 322-0605 for more information.