For their next live performance on July 25th (Facebook), the light patterns and color of an LED smart-installation influenced by sound waves and brain waves (coming from Calkins while he wears an EEG on stage) will alter as they play. This smart-installation is called GROWTH and was created by Katy Bradford, Winter Calkins, Anders Ackerman and Max Jackson. The brain waves part is by Cortex LLC. GROWTH is inspired by the shape and appearance of neurons located inside a human brain. The performance takes place at Will's Pub, 1042 N. Mils Ave, Orlando.
ARK released their latest album on a cassette tape. While the tape is playable, if a fan doesn't own a player, a digital code is included in the holder so they can go online and download the music for free in mp3 form. According to Calkins, "A lot of local Orlando artists release cassette tapes, actually. It's an older form of media, but it's cheap and accessible to many." He says it's also a way to deliver visual artwork in the form of the insert inside the case.
While music is a focus of his life, visual art is of equal importance to Calkins. He is part of the art collective Shine Shed (Facebook), which you may remember was was a major part of Creative City Project in 2014.
"I consider myself a multimedia artist...dabbling in visual, performance, and audio forms of expression in order to deliver experiences for others. My ultimate goal is to tie all these separate forms together to create one, multi-faceted yet cohesive, experience."
He recently helped co-direct and design a specific experience for Body//Talk (Facebook), a collective created in Orlando that puts on monthly experiences inside Spacebar and Sandwich Bar in the Milk District.
"We took a mass texting service and split the attendees into 4 groups based on color and a human element. Throughout the night, these 4 groups were sent messages periodically that tasked them to work together, or with other groups, to complete either a physical task or engage one another in conversation."
These monthly events draw "hundreds of like-minded individuals and those who are excited about experiencing something a little different."
If you want something a little different, keep your eyes on Ark Calkins.