In Identity Pitches, artists Stine Janvin and Cory Arcangel have composed conceptual music scores based on the knitting patterns for traditional Norwegian sweaters known as Lusekofte. Utilizing three of the most popular designs (Setesdal, Fana, and the eight-petal rose of Selbu) of this ubiquitous garment, Janvin creates scores for both solo and ensemble performers by mapping the knitting patterns onto the harmonic and subharmonic series and integrating the tuning principles of traditional Norwegian instruments. These scores are further manipulated by Arcangel using a custom, “deep-fried” coding script to create a series of image glitches.

A foreword and an interview between the two artists provides context for the work, delving into the history of Norwegian folk music tunings and the Lusekofte sweater and their intersection with the cultural identity of the country over the last millennium.

Stine Janvin is a vocalist, performer, and sound artist based in Stavanger, Norway. Janvin works with the extensive flexibility of her voice, and the ways in which it can be used to channel physicality of sound. Often drawing from electronic music, folk music, and contemporary media, she creates audio visual works for variable spaces from theaters, to clubs and galleries, and more recently websites and digital platforms. Recent presentations include Performa Telethon, New York; Munch Live and CADS, Munchmuseet, Oslo; Deutschlandradio Kultur, Daadgalerie, and CTM Festival, Berlin; Kunsthall Stavanger, Stavanger; Rokolective, Bucharest; Wiener Festwochen, Vienna; Issue Project Room, New York; and INA GRM,  Paris.

Cory Arcangel is an artist based in Stavanger, Norway. Arcangel explores, encodes, and hacks the structural language of video games, software, and machine learning. In 2014, he established the merchandise and publishing imprint Arcangel Surfware, which opened its flagship store in Stavanger, Norway in 2018. His work has been exhibited in solo exhibitions at the Whitney Museum, New York; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; Barbican Art Centre, London; Reykjavik Art Museum, Iceland; Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin; and Museum of Contemporary Art, Miami.

84 Pages
6 x 9.5 inches
Paperback
September 2022
ISBN: 9781737797913

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Designer: Benjamin Hickethier
Managing Editor: Hiji Nam
Copy Editor: Allison Dubinsky⁠