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The Depths and Heights of Collaboration

Tom Abbs and Michael P. Landis have been collaborating for a decade on multimedia projects. Landis is an abstract painter who has worked on large canvases and Abbs is an experimental jazz musician who plays, among other instruments, cello, double bass, violin, flute, tuba and didjeridoo.

Over the course of their collaborations, Abbs and Landis became such good friends and colleagues that Landis and his partner Sarah English invited Abbs and his wife Jennifer Kjos to live upstairs from them in the same Brooklyn brownstone. They planted an organic garden, shared meals and lived like a family.

Eventually they would become even closer. Landis has Type I diabetes. In early 2006 he developed a kidney infection which required dialysis three times a week. As his health declined, he spent less time in the studio and began working on smaller compositions on paper rather than canvas. His brother was tested to see if he’d be a potential kidney donor but turned out not to be a good match. In stepped Abbs, who turned out to be a suitable donor. In December 2006 Abbs donated his left kidney to Landis.

Abbs and Landis wanted to dispel the fears and misconceptions attached to living organ donation. They recorded the emotional and physical process in their documentary To Give Is to Receive Is to Give, which will be screened this Tuesday at Squeaky Wheel.

Tom Abbs and Michael P. Landis

When asked what compelled him to donate his kidney, Abbs responded: “Everyone in this world has to deal with family and friends becoming ill and eventually dying. Most often we are only able to give emotional support and are completely helpless to address the illness itself. I think most of us would give anything to stop the suffering of our loved ones. I honestly feel lucky that I could help. To see Michael today living a full life brings me great joy. I have always been healthy and feel just as strong as ever today. I was jogging three weeks after surgery and couldn’t tell you one negative thing about the experience.”

After the documentary there will be a live performance of their latest project, Petting Zoo, a multimedia piece with improvised music and visuals. (Landis was originally going to appear live but has developed an infection in his donated kidney. His prognosis is good, but to keep the kidney from rejecting, he must have his blood constantly monitored and his doctors cautioned him not to travel. He will take part in the Petting Zoo performance via a series of prepared video collaborations. Abbs will call him during the performance and have him talk with the audience.)

The pair’s works are often a union created by the painting of sound and the playing of color, riffs and explorations across different media. The pieces are improvisational conversations and expressions of a deep, symbiotic collaboration. In past live performances Landis painted to the sounds of Abbs and other musicians, and in turn Abbs photographed or videotaped Landis painting. At other times Abbs and his band played to projected images of Landis’ work.

When asked what influences their work, Landis responded, “As far as painters, I am drawn to many abstract expressionist painters, mostly for their direct use of the process of creating over the importance of subject and image. Some of these artists would include Robert Motherwell, Franz Kline, Joan Mitchell and early George McNeil. As far as inspiration, it has always come more from music than from other visual art. I have also been drawn to the visual art of creative artists mostly known for their music like John Cage, Don Van Vliet and Christian Marclay, to name a few.”

Abbs’s inspiration also comes from several sources. Besides jazz greats such as Charles Mingus and Thelonius Monk, Abbs said, “I am most influenced by the artists around me in Brooklyn. I have friends that play afrobeat, classical, be-bop, funk, klezmer…you name it.” Time Out NY once referred to Abbs as “a force of nature on the bass and tuba.” He has performed with well regarded musicians such as pianist Cooper-Moore, drummer Chad Taylor, cellist Okkyung Lee, trumpeter Daniel Carter, saxophonist Sabir Mateen, trombonist Steve Swell, composer Billy Band and conductor Butch Morris.

When asked how he’s doing after the transplant, Landis said, “Well, my life has changed in many ways, practically, even though there are ups and down in the recovery (like the viral infection that kept me from coming on this tour). Overall I feel much better than I have in many years and incomparably better than the last few. And though I feel that Tom and my relationship has always been an evolving, collaborative one since we first met, these past few years have added an intensity that is hard to explain in words.”

Abbs added that since the operation, “We work together every day and continue to dream up new conceptual art whenever we have a free moment. We both have long histories of collaborating with artists in different disciplines, and one thing I have learned is that the deeper the relationship, the deeper and more profound the art becomes.”

To Give Is to Receive Is to Give is followed by the live performance of Petting Zoo in Squeaky Wheel’s Cinema at 712 Main Street, Tuesday, March 18, at 8pm. Tom Abbs and filmmaker Ryan Tebo will be discuss their work and answer questions. $4 members, $6 non-members.