This year marks both the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth, and the 150th anniversary of Darwin’s first presentation of his theory of evolution to fellow scientists. In commemoration of these events and in testament to the continued relevance of Darwin’s theories today, artists John Morton and Jacqueline Shatz have created The Voyage Out, a sonic and visual mediation on Darwin’s legendary voyage aboard the HMS Beagle. The five-year journey circumnavigated the globe, encompassing 20 countries and island archipelagos, and ultimately greatly influenced Darwin’s masterwork, On the Origin of Species.
The Voyage Out centers on an abstracted, kinetic diorama of the HMS Beagle displayed in a museum vitrine. Viewers are invited to turn three music-box keys that activate the movement of the ship and let loose a flood of computer-manipulated sound. The gyrations of the boat evoke the intense, continuous seasickness experienced by Darwin while aboard the ship. The audio component of the piece begins with the sound of gently lapping waves and chirping crickets, quickly shifting into a series of poetically random sound bites that are continually being remixed anew by the computer. The classic music-box tune is transformed by commingled sounds– the recitation of packing lists and field notes taken from Darwin’s biographies and journals, the song of the Galapagos mocking bird and Darwin’s finches, the honk of a penguin, the distinctive sound of an anchor being hoisted up from the sea. By merging the resulting audio with the brightly colored, collaged aesthetic of the vitrine’s display, Morton and Shatz capture both the fantastical quality of the music box and the romantic thrill of adventure associated with this epic voyage.
John Morton and Jacqueline Shatz have collaborated on many music box-based sculptures and installations. A composer and instrument builder, John Morton has presented his music throughout the United States, at such venues as The Kitchen, The Playwright’s Center, MATA at the Paula Cooper Gallery and Bard College. He received an NYFA fellowship in 2002 and 2006, and in 2004 he was awarded a McKnight Visiting Composer fellowship. His outdoor installation Central Park Sound Tunnel was exhibited in Central Park during the summer of 2009, and received significant critical acclaim. Jacqueline Shatz is a sculptor who often works with collage. She began her research with music-boxes at a residency for the Kohler Arts/Industry program in Sheboygan, WI, in 2001. She has shown at the June Kelly Gallery, the Monique Knowlton Gallery and Kouros Gallery in New York, NY. Her Her work is included in numerous collections, and she has curated and organized many exhibitions. She is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship.
Organized by Assistant Curator Leigh Ross, the Sunroom Project Space provides an opportunity for New York-area emerging artists to develop a special project or create a new body of work to exhibit in a solo show. The five artists exhibiting in the 2009 season are: Cece Cole, Steven Millar, Janelle Iglesias, Audrey Hasen Russell and Mauro Zamora.
Public Programs
November 8, 1pm, Meet the Artist.
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