Tiokasin Ghosthorse + Laurie Anderson

What does it say about a culture if its language has no word for war? What does it say about a culture’s perception of the world when its language has no nouns, only descriptions of relationships? Two musicians and spoken word artists—Lakota native Tiokasin Ghosthorse and avant-garde composer Laurie Anderson—engage in a conversation about the power of words to form our understanding of the world.

This program is sponsored by Eileen Schwab.

About the Speakers

Tiokasin Ghosthorse is a member of the Cheyenne River Lakota Nation of South Dakota and has a long history with Indigenous activism and advocacy. Tiokasin is the founder, host, and executive producer of “First Voices Radio” (formerly “First Voices Indigenous Radio”), broadcast for the last 26 years in New York City and Seattle/Olympia, Washington. He received a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize 2016 from the International Institute of Peace Studies and Global Philosophy. He was selected for a 2016 Native Arts Cultural Foundation Fellowship, and is currently a Nominee for a National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship 2018 and a National Native American Hall of Fame Nominee 2018. Tiokasin was also awarded New York City’s Peacemaker of the Year in 2013. He is a “perfectly flawed human being.”

Laurie Anderson is one of America’s most renowned and daring creative pioneers. She is best known for her multimedia presentations and innovative use of technology. As writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist she has created groundbreaking works that span the worlds of art, theater, and experimental music. Her recording career, launched by “O Superman” in 1981, includes the soundtrack to her feature film Home of the Brave and Life on a String (2001). Anderson’s live shows range from simple spoken word to elaborate multimedia stage performances such as Songs and Stories for Moby Dick (1999). Anderson has published seven books, and her visual work has been presented in major museums around the world.

In 2002, Anderson was appointed the first artist-in-residence of NASA, which culminated in her 2004 touring solo performance The End of the Moon. Her film Heart of a Dog was chosen as an official selection of the 2015 Venice and Toronto Film Festivals and received a special screening at the Rubin Museum, where Laurie joined in conversation with Darren Aronofsky. 2018 saw the release of Landfall, a collaboration between Anderson and Kronos Quartet inspired by Hurricane Sandy. All the Things I Lost in the Flood, a book of images and a series of essays about pictures, language, and codes, was published by Rizzoli. Laurie has made many appearances at the Rubin, the last of which was in the first Karma series, together with NASA climatologist Gavin Schmidt.

Image Credit

Photo by Ebru Yildiz