Opening reception November 4, 2005, from 5-7pm.

Sunsistor, "Lovesongs in the Key of Z", album cover by Lance Bifoss.  

To say that Ketchikan artist Lance Bifoss likes music would be a gross understatement. Bifoss borders on obsession with music- so much in fact that he has taken to creating his own auditory reality.

Opening Nov. 4, Auddities invites us into Bifoss’ imaginary musical world. “I have always been obsessed with music,” states Bifoss, “but I never seriously considered trying to play any, but I always wanted to design album covers.” After trying his hand at making fictitious album covers for non-existent bands, without a real sense of satisfaction, Bifoss decided to jump right into creating music for himself.

The result of nearly 5 year of experimenting is the marriage between Bifoss’ original music and his album cover art explorations. It starts with a music single, characterized as “falling somewhere between avant-garde and new age…both laid back and strange or experimental,” says Bifoss. Then the album covers for the singles are made using a variety of techniques: pencil, paint, collage, photography, xerography, marker, and digital manipulation; and then the works are made prints to create a seamless appearance.  The resulting album covers are haunting, humorous, nostalgic and all together visually enticing.  The band names and song titles Bifoss comes up with are equally unique, with titles and names like “The Ghostly Saints of Radio” and “Love songs in the key of Z.”

In Audditites, Bifoss will pair the album art and recorded music in multi-sensory exhibit, compelling viewers to draw their own connections between his musical musings drifting through their ears and abstract album art before them.  The album covers will take the form of CD jackets and 7” vinyl record jackets. Not all album art displayed will correspond to the music heard- Bifoss will feature some of his earlier album work created before he began playing music. Many of the creations will be available for sale as cohesive works of art- your own piece of Bifoss’ complex musical otherworld.