VOLUMES

This summer light and sound come into play with a special installation by the artist Ezra Masch. VOLUMES harnesses the speed of light to reveal the volume of sound and space. From Sunday, August 12, 2018 - Sunday, September 9, 2018 this immersive audio and visual installation project will feature a three- dimensional grid of LED lights that will fill the interior of the Ringling’s Monda Gallery.

Contact microphones will be wired from a basic drum set to custom mixers that will divide the audio into multiple ranges of volume. Dimensions of height, length, and width will then be used to map coordinates of tone and amplitude within the grid of lights. Essentially Masch has created a symbiotic relationship between light and sound, one cannot see the piece unless they can hear it and vice versa. With over fifty percussionists scheduled to play Big Bang, these musicians will be able to experiment with the visual patterns and forms generated in the lights as they perform. Volume and pitch will determine the number of lights that flicker, so each drummer will have to play the light as much as they play the physical drum set.

Although both light and sound are perceived through different sensory receptors, VOLUMES intertwines light, sound, and space in such a way that they become inseparable to anyone who experiences it. Consequently it combines auditory and visual signals so precisely that the audience will eventually begin to see sound. Only the drummer can control the intensity of what the audience experiences by what he or she decides to play. The musician is in control and the space is essentially sculpted live before you by the percussionist. 

As a part of this special installation, The Ringling is presenting four special performances in the Exhibition space, highlighting influential and versatile percussionists, such as American Jazz legend Brian Blade.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website