current_members website years_active label image_size article_title background genre image origin name
ian vanek matt reilly -lsb- http://japanther.com/ japanther.com -rsb- 2001 & ndash ; present recess records 300px japanther
 group_or_band noise rock , punk rock , art punk japanther-11 . jpg brooklyn japanther
japanther

japanther is a band established by matt reilly and ian vanek , then students at pratt institute .
japanther was featured in the 2006 whitney biennial and the 2011 venice biennale , and has collaborated with a diverse pool of artists such as gelitin , penny rimbaud , gee vaucher , dan graham , eileen myles , kevin bouton-scott , robbinschilds , dawn riddle , claudia meza , todd james , devin flynn , ninjasonik , anita sparrow and spank rock .
japanther has made its name with unique performance situations , appearing alongside synchronized swimmers , atop the williamsburg bridge , with giant puppets , marionettes and shadow puppets , in the back of a moving truck in soho , and at shows with giant dinosaurs and bmxers flying off the walls .
installations include the phone booth project at clocktower gallery in new york .
` described as `` art-rock installation paratroopers '' and `` a studied form of new wave anarchism '' by `` flash art '' , a `` performance galaxy '' by `` vanity fair '' , `` super hard , incredibly fast and overall inspiring '' by `` thrasher '' , `` more accessible than other bands of its genre '' by the `` new yorker '' , and `` the best band ever , straight up '' by `` tokion '' .
japanther has always been a band apart , running the gamut from performance art to punk rock and back again .
pushing parties to the limit -lrb- `` lincoln center punk-rock concert turned mini-riot '' - `` new york post -rrb- '' , japanther returns in 2011 with `` beets , limes and rice , '' a celebration of ten years in the underground and an ultra-contemporary meditation on `` catharsis and being in love in a time of darkness . '' .
the band 's album `` beets , limes and rice , '' written in the midst of 84-hour performance piece `` it never seems to end , '' was released in digital and vinyl format from recess records , on cd from japanther 's own tapes records , on cassette from lauren records , and by seayou records in europe .
the artwork for the album was created by monica canilao .
