Experiencing sound, sculpture and silence: A walk into “Rainforest V (variation 3)"
Arter presents "Rainforest V (variation 3)", a self-performing sound installation that invites the viewers to interact, experiment and meditate around the concepts of music, sound and silence.
By Arter
David Tudor and Composers Inside Electronics, INC. (John Driscoll and Phil Edelstein)
Rainforest V (variation 3)Arter
Conceived by David Tudor and realised by Composers Inside Electronics, Inc., Rainforest V (variation 3) is presented as the fourth exhibition of Arter’s Sound Art Projects series initiated and curated by Melih Fereli, Arter’s Founding Director.
In this interactive installation, 20 found and constructed objects such as large floats, plastic barrels, a copper tub, a plant pot, and a badminton racquet are suspended from the ceiling and resonate with signals sent from pre-recorded sound files, thus creating an evolving sound environment for audience exploration.
The story of the Rainforest series is rooted in the experimental music scene of the 1960s. The choreographer Merce Cunningham commissioned David Tudor in 1968 to create a music work for his similarly titled dance.
After performing Rainforest independently from the dance work many times in various locations, Tudor initiated a cross-generational workshop for the work in 1973 with a group of young musicians including John Driscoll and Phil Edelstein, who later became part of Composers Inside Electronics.
This collective energy that emerged in the workshop and performance at the New Music in New Hampshire Festival resulted in the work taking further shape with the collaboration of a new generation of musicians and artists who worked with new technologies.
Over the years, Rainforest was thus transformed into the performed collaborative large-scale sculptural sound installation Rainforest IV, expanding from an experimental musical composition performed with a few objects to acquire a visual and spatial dimension. Rainforest IV marks a major stage in the development of sonic and performative arts. Each new performance of the work is based on contributions by different composers using their own sound materials and objects.
In the electro-acoustic environment created by the performers, the audience was encouraged to walk among the objects and touch them as they like. This tactile nature of the work contributes to a heightened aural and visual sensory experience.
Rainforest V (variation 3)Arter
As the first version that doesn’t feature live performance, Rainforest V opened a new chapter in the history of Rainforest.
Currently, Rainforest V has four variations: MoMA NYC (var. 1), Museum der Moderne Salzburg (var. 2), Arter (var. 3) and MAC Lyon (var. 4).
The dynamic balance created among suspended objects and the resulting sound environment was made possible through the collaborative effort between CIE, Inc., Ed Potokar and Arter’s production and technical teams led by the exhibition’s curator and Arter's Founding Director, Melih Fereli. From this standpoint, the flexibility, originality and collaborative spirit that underlie the Rainforest tradition has been continued and carried forward at Arter.
Rainforest V (variation 3)Arter
The sound environment of Rainforest V utilizes audio transducers that are mechanically attached to each suspended object.
Each object has its own “sound library” with approximately 45–50 sound files of varying durations that are tuned and dedicated to specific objects in each variation of the work.
Rainforest V (variation 3)Arter
The sound files conceived and prepared by Driscoll and Edelstein are transmitted to the transducers on the objects through custom software. The transducers transform electrical signals to mechanical vibrations in the objects that the audience perceives as sound.
Each object serves as a resonant loudspeaker that acoustically transforms the audio signals depending on its shape, dimensions, material and acoustic properties.
The installation also takes on a different character with each viewer’s experience. While previous versions of Rainforest IV were performed live, Rainforest V is an entirely self-running installation that opens itself to interaction. The sonic and visual experience of each viewer with the work also varies depending on their location in the exhibition space.
Rainforest V is a work that adapts to the qualities of space it’s installed in. Karbon, where it is currently on display at Arter, is an entirely black, high-ceiling space that offers a versatile infrastructure for varying configurations. Here at Karbon, the realization of Rainforest V (variation 3) acquires new spatial, visual and aural dimensions.
“Rainforest is a gateway to a world of discoveries; experiencing it changes our way of listening, as well as our perception of music and sounds, from zinging to rumblings, that we probably have remained oblivious to.” (Melih Fereli)
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