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Buhmann on Art: ‘The World Is Sound’

Monks recording for the museum’s “The World Is Sound” exhibition. Photo by Filip Wolak.

BY STEPHANIE BUHMANN | Employing sound in new ways, the Rubin Museum of Art’s “The World Is Sound” exhibition aims to animate and intensify the experience of the museum’s stunning permanent collection, which is particularly focused on Tibetan art. It is organized cyclically, tracing themes from creation to death and rebirth, to explore how the different dimensions of sound have played a key role in Tibetan Buddhism.

By featuring a selection of works by a variety of contemporary artists, including Christine Sun Kim, Ernst Karel, Hildegard Westerkamp, Pauline Oliveros, Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe and Samita Sinha, among others, this exhibition aims to bridge the past with the present. In fact, the juxtaposition of these contemporary positions and historical objects makes for both an unpredictable and inspiring experience.

A ceremonial conch trumpet (dung kar). Tibet; 19th century (?), made of conch shell and metal with gilding (9.75″ h. x 14.625″ w. x 2.625″ d.). Photo courtesy Rubin Museum of Art.

Hoping to encourage visitors to reflect on how we listen in general, curator Risha Lee succeeds in transforming the Rubin into one large instrument and vehicle of sensatory transformation. In this context, the “Le Corps Sonore” (Sound Body) — an immersive, site-specific installation composed for the museum’s iconic spiral staircase by the pioneering electronic sound artists Éliane Radigue, Laetitia Sonami and Bob Bielecki — serves as the centerpiece of the exhibition. Here, ambient drone sounds inspired by Buddhist philosophy are “tuned” to the building and will ascend and descend as visitors wind their way up or down the staircase.

For many, the subtlety and ephemeral quality of sound should prove an ideal catalyst for understanding music as a metaphor for constant change and hence, impermanence.

Through Jan. 8, 2018 at the Rubin Museum of Art (150 W. 17th St. btw. Sixth & Seventh Aves.). Museum Hours: Mon. & Thurs., 11am–5pm. Wed., 11am–9pm. Fri., 11am–10pm (free admission to galleries after 6 p.m.). Sat. & Sun., 11am–6pm. Closed on Christmas and New Year’s Day. $15 general admission ($10 for students/seniors; free admission for seniors on the first Monday of the month; free for kids 12 and younger, and RMA members). Call 212-620-5000 or visit rubinmuseum.org.

John Giorno: “Words Come From Sound” (2016. Rainbow silkscreen; 40 x 40 in.). Charlotte Feng Ford Collection, courtesy Elizabeth Dee, NY.
The immersive, site-specific installation “Le Corps Sonore” was composed for the museum’s iconic spiral staircase. Photo by Filip Wolak.