Stephanie Rowden

In conjunction with Ursinus College’s sesquicentennial and the Berman Museum of Art’s 30th anniversary, Stephanie Rowden will present an experimental sound installation to celebrate the Berman Museum’s history. Through sculpture and multimedia installation, Rowden probes the variegated valences and powers of sound: to evoke memory, transport a listener to another time and place, and to inspire imaginative journeys. Rowden states, “Even a brief snippet of a particular voice or a small detail in a soundscape could transport a listener across time, place and life experience, all the while creating astonishingly vivid images in the mind’s eye.”

Despite her investment in the medium of sound, Rowden’s work remains highly interactive. Soundscapes are conjured through viewer participation, effecting a performative collaboration between artist and visitor. Rowden’s commissioned work for the Berman will consist of an audio walk through the museum, enacting what she calls an “experimental ethnography” of the museum’s collection, as well as the community and town. Ultimately, the interactive sound piece will permit an extended meditation on the experience of looking, the act of collecting, and the passage of time.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website