Sarah Zar, born Sarah Gonek, is an American visual artist, songwriter, performance artist, curator, and musical saw player. She has been publishing writing, showing art, and performing music in New York and elsewhere since 1998. She is the granddaughter of Rose Zar.
The music and arts collective Yula & The Extended Family, founded by Yula Beeri is an ever-morphing poetic tribe based at The Hive NYC in Brooklyn. The group's members not only produce music but also theater, film, photography, painting, literature, horticulture, honey, and more. Current members of The Extended Family include Yula Beeri, Isaac Gardner, Kevin Taylor, Sarah Zar, Kate Campbell, Rob Meyer, and Daniel J. Gerstle of HELO Magazine. Former members include Stefan Zeniuk, Taylor Galassi, and others. The band has released two albums: Victor, Dark Side of the Bee, and a third due out in 2011. They include the singles "Yulix", "Back Off America", and "Mouthful of Diamonds." In 2010, the band performed both at the SXSW Festival and Punk Island NYC.
Shayfer James
is a self-titled singer/ songwriter project. Shayfer James' recent performances have been in New York, New Orleans, and Hong Kong. "When Shayfer James approaches the piano, there is a certain power and mischievous charm that surrounds him. A bewitching sense of foreboding builds as his fingers touch the piano, and as he begins to sing, we are immersed in his darkly lyrical and evocative stories. His wry poetry is stitched seamlessly to peculiar arrangements that are simultaneously unsettling and familiar. Mr. James lures us into a devious world where the gods tear wings from angels and every man has a siren waiting to devour him." Current members of Shayfer James include Dusty Bones, Jeremy Gillespie, Dante Portella, with occasional appearances by Sarah Zar and Peter Horn.
Sarah Zar is an interdisciplinary artist, currently perched in Brooklyn, NY*. Her work has appeared in places and sensory organs around the world. Her paintings have received numerous awards in NY, and her other visual works range from installations, drawings, collages and sculptures to spatial design and letters to strangers. She is currently teaching Contemporary Art and Aesthetics at Montclair State University.
This means that Sarah Zar is a northern-dwelling, migratory "bird". It traditionally creates novels by painting, and their titles and relationships are nomadic. This species is noted for its colorful use of dream logic.
Writing
Sarah Zar's writing was first published by Norm Davis in Hazmat Literary Review in 1998, and has appeared in print and in person since then in publications and writing events such as:
Zar, Sarah, and Charles Whymper. Riddled With Spots. 1st ed. New York: A. Keck, NY. Print.
