Trimpin: The Sound of Invention

Documentary Feature, Documentary Competition
D: Peter Esmonde

In his excellent documentary about German composer/artist/inventor Trimpin, Esmonde introduces us to a singular mind. Like his hero composer Conlon Nancarrow before him, Trimpin (one word, like Prince or Madonna) is fascinated by sound and the machines that create it; the pieces he constructs – for the Kronos Quartet, for robotic arms playing toy pianos, for clogs and toy monkeys, for seismophones (giant marimbas that convert seismic information from Richter scale readings into notes) – walk a curious line between art installation, mechanical demonstration, and performance. He is the rarest kind of artist: Winsome and childlike, he lets his fascination guide his creations, indifferent to taste or commercial concerns. And like a musical Alexander Calder, his work is a testament to the endless possibilities afforded by a free imagination.

Friday, March 20, 9pm, Paramount

This article appears in March 20 • 2009.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US