Was Lost, But Now I'm Found Sound

Holy hell, it's a cool public art project in the District. Here's the juicy bits from the press e-mail:

OCTOBER 14–NOVEMBER 5, 2005

WASHINGTON, DC—In collaboration with leading art galleries of Washington, DC, FOUND SOUND, a public art project, will present works of prominent artists in sound booths placed in public locations throughout Washington, from October 14 through November 5, 2005. The project will also present sound works at on-site locations.

The sound booths—each a reconfigured Port-a-Potty—will be outfitted with high-tech sound equipment and will feature sound art and other work from internationally known and local artists. Participating artists include Richard Chartier, Joseph Grigely, Alberto Gaitán, Jennie C. Jones, Helmut Kopetzky, Brandon Morse, Robin Rose, and Alex Van Oss. Actor/satirist Harry Shearer—of The Simpsons, Spinal Tap, and A Mighty Wind—is contributing a piece on Hurricane Katrina. The sound booths will be placed on sidewalks outside art galleries and arts institutions and be open to the public during gallery hours. Participating galleries and institutions include Fusebox Gallery, Numark Gallery, Conner Contemporary Art, Curator's Office, Adamson Gallery, Hemphill Fine Art, G Fine Art, the Goethe Institute, and DCAC. [So, basically, 14th Street near P, with stops on 7th downtown and 18th in Adams Morgan. —ed.]

"By placing the sound booths on the sidewalk, the project will make this innovative art accessible to a large number of people," says Welmoed Laanstra, the exhibit's curator. "The aim is to create a public experience focused on the developing field of sound art." The project will provide a map so visitors can go from site to site.

In an essay for the project, Nora Halpern, a vice president of Americans for the Arts, observes, " Most traditional exhibitions inhabit contiguous spaces, but FOUND SOUND entices the listener to crisscross a city to experience fully this collection of work. As one leaves a destination for another—whether by foot, car, bus, or Metro—the heightened audio awareness encouraged by each piece should continue, like a musical riff, through all the spaces in between." Writer/humorist Calvin Trillin contributed a poem to the project.

FOUND SOUND is being curated by Welmoed Laanstra, an independent curator. In recent years, she has brought engaging and well-received exhibits to Washington, including "Civic Endurance" (Jacqueline Tarry and Bradley McCallum), which featured photographs and video of homeless youths in Seattle, and "Face Time" (Harry Shearer), which presented video of television talking heads sitting in silence.