JohN MORTON: PLace of Origin
September 6, 2019 – March 8, 2020
Members Opening & Reception: Thursday, September 5, 2019 - 6:30-8:30 PM
Members Opening & Reception: Thursday, September 5, 2019 - 6:30-8:30 PM
Place of Origin weaves together the diverse cultural fabric of Rockland County with a unique and creative approach to listening, interacting, and responding to personal oral histories. Composer and sound artist John Morton gathered stories from the residents of Rockland County towns responding to the question "Where did you grow up?" This idea encompasses the notion that everyone grows up "somewhere" and that those stories can be shared and enriched by the musical and creative use of sound.
Numerous residents from the villages of Rockland County have been interviewed and recorded. Out of these recordings, a digital compilation is created, mixing the voices, experiences, languages, and recording locations that highlight the stories being told. Thus, these community members become the "instruments" of the composition. The setting of the installation is a dining room, where these origin stories can be shared “around the table.” These stories include not only those whose families have called Rockland County home for many generations, but also include immigrants (both long-time and recent), recording them in their native language or language of origin, as well as English.
The sound installation is designed after a similar work by the artist, "Sonic Hotel: Lost and Found Sounds of the Adirondacks." Both installations are controlled by computer, created an ever-changing experience focusing on the sonic/musical attributes of a "dining room conversation", including interruptions, fragmentations, overlaps, storytelling, and acknowledgments. At times, conversations are interrupted by choral interludes. The overall effect is to expand the visitor's awareness of "growing up" from numerous of points of view, both common and unfamiliar, and to view/listen to those experiences through the lens of a dynamic, musical, and continually varying sonic installation.
Place of Origin is made possible with funds from the Decentralization Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and administered by ArtsWestchester.
Numerous residents from the villages of Rockland County have been interviewed and recorded. Out of these recordings, a digital compilation is created, mixing the voices, experiences, languages, and recording locations that highlight the stories being told. Thus, these community members become the "instruments" of the composition. The setting of the installation is a dining room, where these origin stories can be shared “around the table.” These stories include not only those whose families have called Rockland County home for many generations, but also include immigrants (both long-time and recent), recording them in their native language or language of origin, as well as English.
The sound installation is designed after a similar work by the artist, "Sonic Hotel: Lost and Found Sounds of the Adirondacks." Both installations are controlled by computer, created an ever-changing experience focusing on the sonic/musical attributes of a "dining room conversation", including interruptions, fragmentations, overlaps, storytelling, and acknowledgments. At times, conversations are interrupted by choral interludes. The overall effect is to expand the visitor's awareness of "growing up" from numerous of points of view, both common and unfamiliar, and to view/listen to those experiences through the lens of a dynamic, musical, and continually varying sonic installation.
Place of Origin is made possible with funds from the Decentralization Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and administered by ArtsWestchester.
Images
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Sound installation in the Arthayer & Ruth Sanborn Gallery
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Credit for all images: Courtesy of the Artist
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