Diario

February 5 - March 5, 2010
Curated by Dana Turkovic and Adam Watkins
Opening Reception: Friday, February 5, 6pm-8pm
Thank You Earth For This World
-Bo Chung
-Chris Compton
-Dan Hayhurst
-Magdalena Jitrik
-Aleksandr Khodchenko
-Arthur Lager
-David Roberto
-Sterling Roswell
-Sky Sunlight Saxon
-Stanton Warren
-Adam Watkins
The Hunt Gallery is pleased to present Re(sound), an exhibition that explores the sonic medium by compiling a long list of current musings by sound artists from around the world. Re(sound) hopes to build physically on the concept of the periphery, using one sensory input, and providing an alternative metaphor for demonstrating that the idea of an art center has now become more like an invisible node, connected by infinite tentacles by digital networks, thereby displaying the borderless qualities of the sonic medium. As sound flows through space it has the ability to navigate geographically, placing and displacing, bouncing in all directions and always occupying more than one position. Over the past century, this art form has emerged by extracting from the worlds of visual art and music. Sound art’s foundation can be traced to the innovative work of Italian Futurism, Dadaism, and of composer and artist John Cage, as it gradually began to mature into a movement, artists further explored the interactive possibilities of sound and in turn created entirely new modes of experience and engagement. This cross-pollination has inspired some of the most important art being produced today, including work by Janet Cardiff, Rodney Graham and Christian Marclay, among many others. In his book Background Noise: Perspectives on Sound Art, author Brandon LaBelle beautifully illustrates the purpose of this complex medium: “Sound is intrinsically relational: it emanates, propagates, communicates, vibrates, and agitates; it leaves a body and enters others; it binds and unhinges, harmonizes and traumatizes; it sends the body moving, the mind dreaming, the air oscillating. It seemingly eludes definition, while having a profound effect.” In this exhibition, we hope to reveal these unique properties that sound imparts as an artistic medium, and its relational abilities as a creative practice. Because sound can be both borderless and site-specific and imply immediate involvement upon its reception, the physical construction of the exhibition is a reflection of its universal and relational qualities. Presenting the work as a weather vane of sorts, using St. Louis as the central axis, listening stations will be installed marking the North, South, East and West, a compilation of sound works spanning the globe from artists working locally and in Berlin to Los Angeles to Sydney to Toronto. Ultimately extending the notion of sound’s current location as multiple and expansive, the intention is to play on the structure and diverse nature of sound by setting up an environment where the “visitor” is asked to enter the space and simply listen.