Graphite on paper, 2018. 14 by 11 inches.
Artist Beth Campbell contributed an unforgettable project to the first issue of Esopus (an iteration of her “My Potential Future Based on Present Circumstances” series, it was a drawing in the form of a flowchart mapping out all the possible outcomes stemming from her decision to create a project for the publication). In 2014, I asked her and Wrens front man (and Esopus 3 contributor) Charles Bissell if they wanted to collaborate on a limited-edition artwork for our Premium subscribers. They came up with a fascinating idea: Charles would offer up a track from the eagerly anticipated next (and as of yet, never released) Wrens album, which Beth would then create a copy of using only items she had in her Brooklyn Navy Yard studio. I dropped by her studio one day and she demonstrated her technique—which included, as depicted here, her supplying background vocals through the unique method of singing into a coffee can after placing a packing carton over her head.