Mathew Page, a Kentucky-born MFA graduate from Vermont College of Fine Arts and Dmitry “Dima” Strakovsky, a Russian-born MFA graduate of the Art Institute of Chicago, are conceptual artists and musicians whose conceptual band, called live.prime.real.time, is interested in both the populist position of rock music, and self-reflective qualities of contemporary art.

Look for them this Friday, April 25, from 6-9p, in the Boyer Gallery of the Loudoun House (the big room) as Page gives free guitar lessons based on a score created by live.prime.real.time. 

An autographed, limited edition copy of the score is included in the Spring 2014 CSA crop and features guitar tabs as well as instructional phrases like:

-Pretend you know the rules...then break them.
-Walk three steps.
-Pick three notes and play them out of order.

You know, all of the guitar basics "one would learn in order to play rock guitar solos and Fluxus-style directives," as Strakovsky puts it. 

Clearly, these guys are having fun. And if you come to the Harvest Party Friday, you will too. (The live guitar lesson and performance will be immortalized on the group's website later, so check out  

But their work goes deeper to explore the uncomfortable relationship between art and entertainment. 

As Strakovsky explains, "We are literally playing with the cultural constructions of 'popular music' and 'fine art'. Both kind of fail as definitions but give us a glimpse of some of the more interesting problems in the culture around us. There is an inability in most art circles to connect to wider audiences. Vitality that is present in contemporary music does not extend to contemporary art and while music is a major factor in creation of contemporary culture, it is most often relegated to the arena of entertainment.