Tag: Sound Art

Posted on

Terreno Tejido de Piel

L to R: Cecilia Borasino, Alejandra Ortiz de Zevallos, Holland Hopson, Soledad Sanchez

I’m thrilled to have been invited to work on the Terreno Tejido de Piel project that culminates tomorrow with an installation and performance at Maxwell Hall on the campus of the University of Alabama. The project is led by UA Assistant Professor of Scenic Design Soledad Sanchez Valdez with Peruvian guest artists Cecilia Borasino (choreography/dance) and Alejandra Ortiz de Zevallos (sculpture/fiber arts). I’m providing sound for the installation and performance.

Thursday November 14 2024 5-7pm
Terreno Tejido de Piel
Maxwell Hall
420 Stadium Drive
University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa AL

Posted on

Sleep Well, Bill Viola

I was saddened to hear that media artist Bill Viola died earlier this week.

One of the first pieces I saw of Viola’s has stuck with me. The Sleepers (1992) shows video of people sleeping. Simple enough, but the CRT monitors are on their backs in the bottoms of 55-gallon drums, submerged in water. The peaceful glow of the light from the barrels and the images of people sleeping, dreaming and breathing is contrasted by the ever present danger of electrocution and drowning. A baptism. A burial. A revelation of how separate our sleeping and waking lives really are. And a suggestion that waking up might not go as planned.

I appreciate the slow, contemplative pace of Viola’s work. His attention to sound is also notable. I wonder if–in a different universe–he might have become a sound artist with an eye for the visual rather than a media artist with an ear for sound.