Max Eastley

Max Eastley (born 1 December 1944, Torquay, Devon, England) is a British visual and sound artist. He is part of the Cape Farewell Climate Change project. He studied painting and graphic art at Newton Abbot Art School and then went on to gain a BA in Fine Art (1969–1972) at Middlesex University (formerly Hornsey School of Art). He is a sculptor (kinetic), musician and composer. His primary instrument is a unique electro-acoustic monochord, developed from an aeolian sculpture. 'The Arc' consists of a single string stretched lengthwise across a long piece of wood (around ten feet) which can be played with a bow, fingers or short glass rods. The end of the instrument has a microphone attached so the basic sound can be amplified, recorded and run through sound effect programs.
Eastley has collaborated with many different artists and musicians on performances, installations and recordings including: David Toop, Brian Eno, Paul Burwell, Victor Gama, Hugh Davies, Steve Beresford, Peter Greenaway, Dave Hunt, David Buckland, Evan Parker, Peter Cusack, Spaceheads. From 2001–2002, Eastley was a visiting fellow at John Moores University Liverpool and is currently (2010 onwards) an AHRC research fellow at Oxford Brookes University researching Aeolian phenomena. On 17 May 1989, Eastley was awarded a prize in the 'Learning Spaces Category' of the working in the City European Communities Architectural Ideas Competition (University College Dublin).
Selected discography.
Eastley has worked across a variety of genres including: improvised and experimental music; folk music; popular song; jazz; compositions using environmental recordings as well as musical resources. He has also composed music for film and dance. Eastley was part of the group 'The 49 Americans', who played together for a period during the 1980s and produced several albums together.
Selected performances.
Eastley has performed as a solo musician and in many combinations with other artists. He has worked on stage with his installations and with film and has created and performed in musical/theatrical performances such as: 'Whirled Music'.
Selected installations and exhibitions.
Eastley has done a wide variety of installations worldwide, many of which use moving parts (motors, pulleys etc.) to create ambient soundscapes while engaging the observer visually. Many recordings of the below installations appear on the CD: 'Max Eastley Installation Recordings 1973–2008' 
Installations for Cape Farewell.
Eastley collaborated with sound engineer Dave Hunt to develop an innovative computer-controlled amplification system for these installations. Eastley has been part of the Cape Farewell project since 2005 and has been on three trips to Spitsbergen with the organisation. Sound clip of bearded seals
The following installations were part of a touring exhibition:
Publications featured in.
Eastley has appeared in several publications since the 1970s, including:
Film, radio and dance.
Dance.
Eastley composed music for the Siobhan Davies Production: 'Plants and Ghosts' in 2002.