Laurie Anderson: About Time

Time is one of the most impermanent forms of measurement that humans have devised to help manage life. Do you feel like you’re running out of time? Which way is time going? Are you able to stop time? If so, how? In a series of on-stage conversations, artist, writer, and vocalist Laurie Anderson tackles these questions and more to help us reframe the concept of time and perhaps our perspective on life. 

Laurie has invited a group of her favorite writers, thinkers, and poets to assist us in picturing new and different views of time.

In this third conversation, Laurie is joined by Buddhist philosopher and teacher the Venerable Tenzin Priyadarshi, who serves as the president and CEO of The Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Arrive early to visit Laurie Anderson’s scent and video piece “Uncle Allen” in the Mandala Lab on the third floor. Then, meet at the base of the spiral staircase at 5:15 PM for a docent-led tour. All ticket buyers receive free admission to the galleries.

Other About Time guests include poet Jane Hirshfield (Friday, February 9), writer Tom McCarthy (Friday, February 23), and fiction novelist Benjamín Labatut (Sunday, March 31).

About the Speakers

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. 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. 

Laurie has made many appearances at the Rubin, and has been in conversation with Wim Wenders, Mark Morris, Janna Levin, Gavin Schmidt, Neil Gaiman, and Tiokasin Ghosthorse. She also hosted the premiere season of the Rubin’s AWAKEN podcast.

Venerable Tenzin Priyadarshi is president and CEO of The Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a center dedicated to inquiry, dialogue, and education on the ethical and humane dimensions of life. The Center is a collaborative and nonpartisan think-and-do tank, and its programs emphasize responsibility and examine meaningfulness and moral purpose between individuals, organizations, and societies. Six Nobel Peace Prize laureates serve as The Center’s founding members and its programs run in several countries and are expanding.

Venerable Tenzin’s unusual background encompasses entering a Buddhist monastery at the age of 10 and receiving graduate education at Harvard University with degrees ranging from philosophy to physics to international relations. He is a Tribeca Disruptive Fellow and a 2018 Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. His book Running Toward Mystery—The Adventure of an Unconventional Life was published by Random House US.

Venerable Tenzin serves on the boards of a number of academic, humanitarian, and religious organizations. He is the recipient of several recognitions and awards, and received Harvard’s Distinguished Alumni Honors for his visionary contributions to humanity. 

Venerable Tenzin first appeared on the Rubin stage with artist Antony Gormley in 2010, and contributed a week-long teaching in 2020 as part of The Rubin Daily Offering series on how to navigate  the unprecedented during the COVID lockdown.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.

The Rubin Museum’s programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.

Image credit: Stephanie Diani, 2023