Prairie at the Chicago Cultural Center, Feb 8 - May 5, 2013
My latest piece Prairie , a large electro-mechanical sculptural sound installation,is on exhibition in the Yates Gallery of the historic Chicago Cultural Center, Washington Street at Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago, through May 5.
There are a wide range of panel discussions, workshops, meditation sessions, music and dance performances and more scheduled to weave in and around this exhibition. You can find a full listing of these towards the bottom of this page, along with additional photos, etc. of the installation.
Quoting from the Exhibition's Program Guide (written by Lanny Silverman):
Prairie epitomizes Decker’s ongoing investigations into the complexities of rhythm, small motions, sounds and the dynamic behavior of natural systems. This piece mimics the rich soundscape and eco-systems of grasslands with insect sounds, rain, wind and other rhythms of the life found within them, while it also incorporates a visual recreation of tall grasses moving in the wind. The interplay between nature and the machine, human intervention and artifice is complex and multi-layered. The programming of this piece is an excellent example of this. Each of the multitudinous vertically mounted brass rods contains a vibration motor at the base and a small speaker at its top resulting in the “grass” stems shuddering and swaying as the speakers emit clicking and buzzing sounds, possibly suggesting a relationship between sound and motion. This is all controlled by a microprocessor with patterns generated by simple rules applied to each stem, so that they operate independently, but are also affected by neighboring stems’ actions as well. This interplay between structured patterns and chance is modeled after natural systems’ emergent behavior; thus Prairie’s ongoing changes mirror that of an eco-system responding to gradual changes in its natural environment. This interaction between programming and chance, between authorship (and intentionality) and “natural” can easily be seen as an evolution of John Cage’s compositional methods.
Rather than hide his process and the work’s structural underpinning, Decker has made this an important part of the work, and these design choices impact our experience of the work. Hence functional elementsare also aesthetic choices. In addition to the irony of an artist “designing” a natural system – or at least a recreation of one, Decker has created a large-scale sculptural piece with nods to highly manufactured Minimalist sculpture of the 1960s as well as to the modernist grids evident in Modernist architecture, especially that of Mies van der Rohe. Again, the peculiar notion of “manufacturing” nature and the contrast between natural order and human order (which of course at some level is also natural) is complex and fascinating.
And lastly, the most important aspect of this piece is its performative, changing nature, meant to be experienced over a period of time. The artist has carefully constructed a work of art that evokes our experience of natural phenomena, an everchanging performance which isn’t entirely predictable. Over time, seeming “conversations” and patterns between the various stem elements have an almost hypnotic and sometimes even humorous appeal. Decker has created a work of art which subtly yet powerfully changes the ambience of this magnificent gallery surrounded by an ominously apt cityscape evident in window views. He has engineered an experience that slows down our internal sense of time, much like being in natural settings often does. Despite its seeming minimalism and subtlety it is also replete with musical, rhythmic, intellectual and aesthetic complexity that rewards the patience of its audience.
Here is a calendar of the various events taking place in and around Prairie:
Note: Many of these Programs and Workshops were developed and produced in collaboration with graduate students in the MA in Arts Administration and Policy at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (including Panel discussions, Meditation Workshops, design of the entrance to the exhibition, The Terrarium Workshop, etc.) Also, special thanks to Kate Dumbleton, faculty in the MA in Arts Administration and Policy Program at the School of the Art institute of Chicago, who organized the fantastic panel discussion and the Frank Rosaly performance.
On the Prairie
In these diverse dance performances created in reaction to Shawn
Decker’s work, audiences are offered an alternative point of entry into
Decker’s installation. Participating artists are Elements Contemporary
Ballet, The Space/Movement Project, Adam Rose / Antibody Corporation,
and atom-r.
Elements Contemporary Ballet
Saturday, February 16 12:30pm, 4:00pm
Sunday, February 17 12:30pm, 4:00pm
Wednesday, February 20 12:30pm, 4:00pm
The Space/Movement Project
Thursday, February 28 Noon, 1:00pm, 2:00pm
Saturday, March 2 Noon, 1:00pm, 2:00pm
Sunday, March 3 1:00pm, 2:00pm, 3:00pm
Adam Rose / Antibody Corporation
Saturday, March 23 3:00pm-6:00pm
Sunday, March 24 Noon-3:00pm
Wednesday, March 27 Noon-3:00pm
Atom-r (Anatomical Theatres of Mixed Reality)
Saturday, April 20 1:00pm, 2:00pm
Sunday, April 21 1:00pm, 2:00pm
Wednesday, April 24 1:00pm, 2:00pm
Terrarium Workshop
Shawn Decker’s dynamic installation calls our attention to the self-organizing behavior of natural systems. As a journey into this largescale sound ecosystem, we invite you to participate in a hands-on succulent terrarium workshop onsite. Crafting these self-contained environments will not only allow you to experience the installation ina unique way, but also allow you to take away a tangible reminder of your sonic experience.
Materials will be provided along with a brief tutorial for a hands-on succulent terrarium workshop in the Sid Yates Gallery. The terrarium assembly will be an immersive complement that gives form to your personal engagement with Prairie. These terrariums will be a tangible take-away and a living reminder of your sonic experience. The workshops are free but space is limited. Please register at prairie.exhibit@gmail.com.
Thursday, February 21 12:15pm-1:30pm
Saturday, March 9 2:00pm-3:15pm
Saturday, April 6 2:00pm-3:15pm
The workshops are free but space is limited.
Please register at prairie.exhibit@gmail.com
Location: Sidney R. Yates Gallery
Meditation Session(s)
The complexity of the Prairie installation requires visitors to exercise a keen awareness in order to identify its subtleties. Our guided non-denominational meditation workshop series invites you to spend an extended amount of time with the piece in an immersive and thoughtful context.
March 5-8 Noon-2:00pm
Open entrance/departure for 2 hours (we ask that you stay at least
20 minutes to assure minimal interruptions for others). No sign up is
required.
Location: Sidney R. Yates Gallery
Improvised Performance Program: Prairie and Frank Rosaly
This unique program places Chicago based drummer, composer
and improviser, Frank Rosaly, in collaboration with Prairie for an
improvised “duo” performance. Rosaly is an integral part of the
vibrant improvised music scene in Chicago, and a critically acclaimed
artist nationally and internationally. His work frequently
engages improvisation as means of exploring natural and manipulated
systems.
Saturday, March 16 7:00pm-8:00pm
Location: Sidney R. Yates Gallery
Panel Discussion: Positive Feedback: assuming the (un)natural in contemporary installation art
Thursday, March 21, 12:00-2:00 PM
Panelists:
Amy Coffman-Phillips, Biomimicry expert and founder of B-Collaborative.
Hannah Higgins, Professor of Art History at UIC and author of The Grid Book.
Lou Mallozzi, Sound artist, curator, and faculty member at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Moderator:
Hamza Walker: Director of Education and Associate Curator at the Renaissance Society, University of Chicago.
Location: Garland 1, First Floor, Chicago Cultural Center.
Gallery Talk with the Artist
Thursday, March 28 12:15pm
Location: Sidney R. Yates Gallery
Panel Discussion: Surround Sound: Prairie and Beyond
Panelists: Roscoe Mitchell, Ken Vandermark, Pamela Jennings
Moderator: Dieter Roelstraete
From cities to environmental ecosystems to musical notes, how things fit together and influence one another to shape patterns and systems is a topic of limitless discussion and a site of continuous innovation. This panel convenes some extraordinary thinkers across discipline to consider ideas such as organizing sound, planning dynamic spaces and innovative environments, improvising and self-organizing systems, and convening natural and manipulated environments.
Thursday, April 18 6:00pm-8:00pm
Location: Claudia Cassidy Theater
Closing Reception
Friday, May 3 5:30pm-7:30pm
Location: Sidney R. Yates Gallery
