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SOUNDINGS: A CONTEMPORARY SCORE, 2013

MoMA's first major exhibition of sound art presents work by 16 of the most innovative contemporary artists working with sound. While these artists approach sound from a variety of disciplinary angles—the visual arts, architecture, performance, computer programming, and music—they share an interest in working with, rather than against or independent of, material realities and environments. These artistic responses range from architectural interventions, to visualizations of otherwise inaudible sound, to an exploration of how sound ricochets within a gallery, to a range of field recordings—including echolocating bats, abandoned buildings in Chernobyl, 59 bells in New York City, and a sugar factory in Taiwan. The diversity of these works reflects a complex and nuanced field. Yet the exhibition posits something specific: that how we listen determines what we hear. Indeed, the works provoke and evoke—both in the maker and the museumgoer—modes of active listening, and a heightened relationship between interior and exterior space. At a time when personal listening devices and tailored playlists have become ubiquitous, shared aural spaces are increasingly rare. Many of the artists in the exhibition aim for such realities, and the sound they create is decidedly social, immersing visitors and connecting them in space. In many of the works, links are drawn between disparate topographies and subjects, giving rise to new understanding and experiences.

The artists in the exhibition are Luke Fowler (Scottish, b. 1978), Toshiya Tsunoda (Japanese, b. 1964), Marco Fusinato (Australian, b. 1964), Richard Garet (Uruguayan, b. 1972), Florian Hecker (German, b. 1975), Christine Sun Kim (American, b. 1980), Jacob Kirkegaard (Danish, b. 1975), Haroon Mirza (British, b. 1977), Carsten Nicolai (German, b. 1965), Camille Norment (American, b. 1970), Tristan Perich (American, b. 1982), Susan Philipsz (Scottish, b. 1965), Sergei Tcherepnin (American, b. 1981), Hong-Kai Wang (Taiwanese, b. 1971), Jana Winderen (Norwegian, b. 1965), and Stephen Vitiello (American, b. 1964).

Organized by Barbara London, Associate Curator, with Leora Morinis, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Media and Performance Art. The exhibition is made possible by MoMA’s Wallis Annenberg Fund for Innovation in Contemporary Art through the Annenberg Foundation. Major support is provided by Jerry I. Speyer and Katherine G. Farley, The International Council of The Museum of Modern Art, The Junior Associates of The Museum of Modern Art, Office for Contemporary Art Norway (OCA), Richard J. Massey Foundation for Arts and Sciences, and the Danish Arts Council Committee for International Visual Arts. Additional funding is provided by the MoMA Annual Exhibition Fund.

Richard Garet
Before Me 2012

Head amplifier, speaker cabinet, turntable,
glass marble, microphone stand, shotgun
microphone, and lightbulb.

Collection of the artist and
Julian Navarro Projects, New York

Garet’s work takes many shapes, from
sculptural installations to digital projections
to live performances. Before Me fits into the
first and last categories: it is a sculptural
assemblage of outmoded technologies, and
the spinning marble amounts to a live
performance of sorts. The work’s centerpiece
is an old LP record player with its platter upside
down and revolving at 33 ½ revolutions per
minute. The marble at the upturned edge can
advance only slightly before its momentum is
overridden and it rolls back to its starting point.
This action continues endlessly, suggesting the
plight of Sisyphus, a king in Greek mythology
who was compelled to push a boulder up a
mountain only to have it repeatedly fall back to
the mountain’s base. Garet explores what is
often considered background noise, and here
the background (the platter on which a record
is typically placed for playing) is central to the
piece, the director of the marble’s fate.

Richard Garet
Before Me 2012

Head amplifier, speaker cabinet, turntable,
glass marble, microphone stand, shotgun
microphone, and lightbulb.

Richard Garet
Before Me 2012

Head amplifier, speaker cabinet, turntable,
glass marble, microphone stand, shotgun
microphone, and lightbulb.

Richard Garet
Before Me 2012

Head amplifier, speaker cabinet, turntable,
glass marble, microphone stand, shotgun
microphone, and lightbulb.

Richard Garet
Before Me 2012

Head amplifier, speaker cabinet, turntable,
glass marble, microphone stand, shotgun
microphone, and lightbulb.

Richard Garet
Before Me 2012

Head amplifier, speaker cabinet, turntable,
glass marble, microphone stand, shotgun
microphone, and lightbulb.

Richard Garet
Before Me 2012

Head amplifier, speaker cabinet, turntable,
glass marble, microphone stand, shotgun
microphone, and lightbulb.

Richard Garet
Before Me 2012

Head amplifier, speaker cabinet, turntable,
glass marble, microphone stand, shotgun
microphone, and lightbulb.

Richard Garet
Before Me 2012

Head amplifier, speaker cabinet, turntable,
glass marble, microphone stand, shotgun
microphone, and lightbulb.

Richard Garet
Before Me 2012

Head amplifier, speaker cabinet, turntable,
glass marble, microphone stand, shotgun
microphone, and lightbulb.

Richard Garet
Before Me 2012

Head amplifier, speaker cabinet, turntable,
glass marble, microphone stand, shotgun
microphone, and lightbulb.

Richard Garet
Before Me 2012

Head amplifier, speaker cabinet, turntable,
glass marble, microphone stand, shotgun
microphone, and lightbulb.

Richard Garet
Before Me 2012

Head amplifier, speaker cabinet, turntable,
glass marble, microphone stand, shotgun
microphone, and lightbulb.

Richard Garet
Before Me 2012

Head amplifier, speaker cabinet, turntable,
glass marble, microphone stand, shotgun
microphone, and lightbulb.