Laurie Anderson, 'The Language of the Future'

Wanna see a 67-year-old woman play non-stop violin while she wears ice skates with the blades frozen into a solid block of ice? Me too. The piece is called 'Duets on Ice' and it's a recreation of an original performance from the arguable hey day of ponderous New York performance art in the early seventies. As for the artist, my god. The term “electronic music pioneer” is bandied around a lot at modern art festivals, but Laurie Anderson is more deserving of the title than most. Amongst other things, she's invented a magnetic violin that plays like a kind of manual cassette tape. And let's not forget that 1981 smash hit 'O Superman' which introduced a generation to electronic minimalism, and is probably the only song on any major chart to have dissuaded The Aliens from completely annihilating the popular music industry.

One of the more inspiring things about Anderson is her work ethic. Like husband Lou Reed, she understands how non-stop work is at least as important as inspiration. 'Duets on Ice' will be one of many pieces Anderson will recreate at the opening of her exhibition at the Samstag. The show is a kind of retrospective, including her work as a writer, performer, visual artist and musician. See it.