Under the Sun
Jeff Talman 06.21.2018 - 08.02.2018 Sanctuary
About the work
The sun roars with thousands of resonant sounds that cease at the vacuum of space. But analysis of the oscillations of the Sun’s mass enables scientific reproduction of its sounds.
Under the Sun features only these modeled solar sounds scaled to the range of human hearing and to the acoustic signature of Saint Peter’s Church. The site’s inherent acoustic properties become the framework for a quasi-symphonic sound field composition as the building becomes a giant tuned instrument reverberating with the sound of the sun.
Seeking a human sensibility to a celestial phenomenon, the work embodies both meditative and highly dynamic passages as it engages the luminosity and resonance inherent to the church’s stunning architecture. Enhanced senses of spatial presence are offered as the cosmic reality of the otherwise space-veiled sounds engages art, architecture, and the radiant solar energy that sustains our lives.
About the artists
Jeff Talman, internationally-regarded artist and composer, has created installations with the sounds of the stars, with the polymetric rhythms of pulsars, with the hum of the Earth, with sounds of the ocean’s depths and from that of a single kiss. His installations, often collaborations with scientists, have been presented in Cologne’s Cathedral Square, Galleria Mazzini in Genoa, Rothko Chapel, the MIT Media Lab, Chicago’s St. James Cathedral and other locations, including four installations in the Bavarian Forest. He is the recipient of several prestegious grants and awards including from the Guggenheim Foundation, the New York Foundation for the Arts and numerous international residencies.
Dr. Daniel Huber, astrophysicist, is professor at the
Institute for Astronomy of the University of Hawaii. He researches the structure and evolution of solar-type and low-mass stars using asteroseismology, optical long-baseline interferometry, spectroscopy and broadband photometry. He studies exoplanets by the characterization of host stars. A team member of NASA’s Kepler Mission, he worked at NASA Ames Research Center and the SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA.
