Martin LaBorde Gallery hosts experimental artists of many kinds.

In a town with an art scene as conservative as Carmel''s, it''s not easy to find a gallery willing to open itself up to avant garde visual art, much less one willing to host regular evenings of cutting-edge music and performance art.

The Martin LaBorde Gallery, on 6th just west of Dolores, is a welcome exception, crossing the line of artistic parochialism with its innovative Performance Art and Music Series. The art gallery has opened its doors, for free, to a variety of musicians, poets, photographers and dancers at least twice a month since the fall of 1998.

The series is the creation of local experimental musician/composer Ernesto Diaz-Infante. Early last year, Diaz-Infante tried to persuade a number of local institutions, including other galleries, to host experimental perfomances. His idea met with little enthusiasm until he ran into Martin LaBorde manager Robert DeFord, who shared his interest in out-of-the-ordinary forms of artistic expression, and the performance series was born.

Diaz-Infante, who acts as the gallery''s resident musician, recruits the performers and organizes the shows. Because of little radio airplay and promotion for this kind of art, DeFord says, "every performer who comes here has the same sad story, even performers from San Francisco and New York. It''s hard for them to find a place and an audience."

Many of these artists tour the country specifically targeting cities that will accommodate their type of experimental performance. Diaz-Infante says the Martin LaBorde Gallery has made a name for itself in this world, and is now a stop on the experimental circuit. "Avant-garde/new music is a rich tradition that exists everywhere in the world, so why not in Monterey?" he asks. "A creative music scene has been established and is thriving, at places like the Martin LaBorde Gallery, KAZU''s Up to Date Performance Space, Monterey Peninsula College''s "New Stuff," and the Henry Miller Library [in Big Sur]."

A first-time visitor to one of the gallery''s experimental music evenings will probably hear something they''ve never heard before. "Experimental music stretches the imagination," says Ted Ciesla, a repeat visitor to the series. "It''s challenging and new."

Unlike most contemporary pop music, many times there is not an apparent structure to creative/experimental music. It is often non-linear in approach. But, Diaz-Infante insists, "It''s a valid form of expression and it''s not really difficult to understand when you think about it in the context of other art forms. If you can go to the art museum and appreciate contemporary art, there''s no reason why you can''t appreciate and support creative music."

DeFord says that the Martin LaBorde Gallery, which also has a branch in New Orleans, has given him a "long leash" to do what he wants with these performances. Recent shows have included St. Petersburg painter/writer Tatyana Apraksina reading her poetry in Russian and English, and displaying her paintings; percussionist Moe! Staiano, who uses found objects such as vibrators, bicycle wheels and spatulas; a musician who plays the tuba and sings simultaneously; and the Harman/Diaz-Infante trio who use prepared guitars, a fretless bass and a menu of interesting devices to create their music.

DeFord say that hosting this series allows the gallery to examine the relationship between the visual and the performing arts. "Music has form, color, and textures," he says, "but usually has an advantage over purely visual art since it invokes the entire range of senses whereas paintings, drawings, photographs and sculpture have limited sensory connectors or receptors to play upon."

It''s natural to pair experimental music and performance art with a modern art gallery, Diaz-Infante agrees. "It all parallels each other," he says. "Dadaist, surrealist, futurist, abstract expressionist, minimalists, all the art forms go hand in hand."

Still, it''s territory unknown to many people, says DeFord. "Anything unfamiliar is uncomfortable to an audience that is steeped in convention and conformity."

---

Appearing this weekend at the Martin LaBorde Gallery are Surrealestate, a Los Angeles-based free improvisation and new music group with sax, guitars and percussion, Fri. at 7pm; and Scott Looney''s Duo Project (avant-garde keyboards and electronics) with Triptych, a trio grounded in jazz traditions, but ranging well beyond established parameters, Sat. at 7pm. Call 620-1150 for information.

mail@coastweekly.com">Send a Letter to the Editor | http://www.eline.com/CW" target="resource window">Post a Public Forum