I visited the one-day exhibition “Sequence of Waves” last weekend at St. Cecilia’s Convent in Greenpoint, organized by the collective Rabid Hands. 40+ artists were included in the show, and it was a culmination of a two-week residency within the space. The building itself – a 19th century convent – is impressive, and it’s always a treat to see how artists respond to the environment. While “Sequence of Waves” was not exclusively a sound art show, many of the invited artists did work with sound.
Titled Lo Siento por Sonido by Victoria Keddie and Jessica Findley, this work was a playable zither instrument whose strings extended over two rooms, and fed through furniture found within the building. (You can listen to a sound sample here.)
Ben Wolf disassembled a boat and used the parts to complete a sculpture within the stairwell, which stretched out over three floors.
G. Lucas Crane piled amps in the basement, which amplified sounds from microphones placed throughout the convent.
Nick Yulman built these (precious, I might add) little mechanical percussion machines.
Roberto Carlos Lange’s piece was a music box inserted within an airshaft that snaked between two rooms. Turning the knobs activated the music box, echoing sound through the airshaft’s chambers.
John Roach invited other artists to build instruments for the Broadcast Room, which would comprise a “choir” of sorts. The instruments played continuously throughout the show, and a rotating mic within the room would pick up this sound and broadcast it over a FM channel.
The below is one of Steven Milton and Terence Caulkins’ three “Sound Objects.” It is a piano soundboard, amplified by a transducer. A visitor plays the instrument with an ebow.
Aaron Kuffner's robotic gamelatron orchestra Gamelatron in the small cathedral was a runaway hit.
The below is an installation by Phillip Stearns and Martyna Szcz. The circuits respond to the lack of activity in the room. The quieter the space, the less the strings descending from the ceiling vibrate.
Big thanks to participating artist Jan Drojarski for giving me a tour!