web of sound and light

i've just returned from northwest spain, where i was invited to conduct a series of sound art workshops and create a special edition of sonic fabric. please see the sonic fabric news page for more info.

OM = C# 136.1 Hz

based on an image from The World Is Sound: Nada Brahma: Music and the Landscape of Consciousness, by Joachim-Ernst Berendt 

the sonic fabric custom editions crowdsourcing campaign thru usa projects ended successfully, having raised enough funds to weave a 125 yard batch of fabric. the cidade da cultura de galicia will be receiving a 30-yard edition containing a blend of music from this unique region of spain.

i will also be weaving 40 yards containing only a single note - C# 136.1Hz. this tone is the base note of the sitar and tamboura, and is the note upon which tibetan monks have been basing the OM chant for thousands of years. it is considered by many in indian and tibetan cultures to be the primordial sound of the universe.

it is not too late to have a hand in the making of this very special custom edition - by purchasing yardage, you are making this project possible. please visit the SHOP page for details.

please allow me to weave you a small edition of custom sonic fabric

from now until august 30th, donors to my crowdsourcing endeavor through USA projects can receive 20 yards of sonic fabric - custom recorded with the sounds of your choosing - for a tax-deductible contribution.

improvisation for flute and ruben's tube

art of interconnectedness - goethe's game

goethe's game (the mesa), a conceptual artwork based on 1970's "booby trap" toy from alyce santoro on Vimeo.

the synergetic omni-solution launch in marfa, texas

The launch weekend hosted by ballroom marfa saw a number of long-held visions realized. i gave a demonstration on the physics of sound using a ruben's tube (video forthcoming), scholars/border historians enrique and ruby madrid of redford, texas taught the art of quantum tortilla making, i served universal raisin cake baked in a solar oven, i gave a sailing lesson for desert dwellers (video forthcoming), and debuted a new piece - GOETHE'S GAME, an enlarged version of a childhood toy - exhibited with hand-thrown ceramic pieces made by mike bianco.

i spoke about the project on marfa public radio, and wrote an article published in waging nonviolence: EVERYONE AS ACTIVIST: THE SYNERGETIC OMNI-SOLUTION.

the synergetic omni-solution - entry to the buckminster fuller challenge

for several years i have been singing the praises of the buckminster fuller challenge but i had yet to submit an entry until now. a $100,000 prize is awarded to a person or team who devises a simple, efficient solution to a complex problem facing society and our planet. bucky referred to such ideas as "trimtabs", named for the tiny rudder on a large ship that is ultimately responsible for precise steering. there's much more on my entry, entitled the synergetic omni-solution, at the buckminster fuller challenge idea index.

texas biennial 2011

in 2003, i got a chance to show louise bourgeois some of my work. she said, "what does it DO?" and i said, "it's to be used in different kind of rituals." and she said, "so DO A RITUAL!". now i get my chance...

i couldn't be more delighted to be ballroom marfa's featured artist for the texas biennial. i'll be giving demonstrations of the philosoprops, leading discussions, and creating installations around town during the weekend of april 29 thru may 1, 2011. hope you can join us.

the wikileaks samba

artist as accidental activist

my article artist as accidental activist on artist-as-social-sculptor and sustainability in the arts is now available in the australian network for arts and technology's filter magazine issue number 75 - habitats for public engagement.

bubble up: the music video

soundwave: green sound: change of plan

in light of the state of the environment and the clear effect of humanity's impact on it, i can no longer justify traveling long distances to perform for just a few hours. instead of appearing live at this weekend's "soundwave: green sound" festival, i offer you this special virtual presentation.

makers: DIY agents of social change

i've got another article published at truthout. this one is called makers: DIY agents of social change" and it's very much inspired by joseph beuys' concept of "social sculpture".

hydroponic dress and curtain

the hydroponic dress and curtain were debuted at my first-ever art opening at as220 in providence, rhode island back in 1995. i used a kind of colored gelatinous hydroponic soil in the pockets, and made fruit juice gelatin to match.

how to cultivate synchronicity and inspiration

i was just asked an excellent question by a student in my friend elizabeth demaray's advanced sculpture class at rutger's university - how can one best cultivate a sense of connectedness and synchronicity in life and work?

this has got to be one of the Ultimate Questions. for the answer, i can only offer clues, since the methods for achieving this are bound to vary with every individual.

clues:

1. the "subtle reality technologies" of shamans and holy people. in particular, i have studied some of the profoundly elegant rituals of tibetan buddhists and peruvian shamans. symbolic acts are ways to connect with invisible, subtle dimensions that are not immediately accessible to the "rational" mind. our culture with its emphasis on scientific analysis and insistence on the rational and quantifiable neglects and discounts all parts of reality that do not "make sense". however, the parts of reality that do not make rational sense are the very parts that are engaged in the effective making and appreciating of all acts of creativity - this is why art and music (and love, intuition, inspiration, etc) "move" us. as humans, we crave a sense of connectedness - many people use and abuse substances in the quest to achieve non-ordinary states of consciousness. these states are available to us all via:
2. meditation, participating in brainstorms, improvisational musical ensembles, other collaborative acts of creativity.
3.experiencing nature and consciously connecting with the overwhelming sense of the miraculousness, utter improbability of, and ultimate creative power of it.
4. the writings of joann wolfgang von goethe ("goethe's way of science" and "the wholeness of nature") and his techniques for cultivating intuitive senses.
5. art and writing of joseph beuys and the concept of "social sculpture".
6. radionics. please see duncan laurie's work, and my interview at his website.

to name a few...

interviewed by duncan laurie

i'm really honored to have thetranscript of an interview with duncan laurie, author of the secret art (one of my favorite books), published on his website.

radionics in my work

i'm honored to have had a veritable field guide to my work published in the form of an essay published on the website of duncan laurie, author of one of my favorite books,the secret art.

change is dead, long live change

please visit truthout.org to read my article about the climate change debate, "change is dead, long live change".

global OM project

(please click the image to enlarge. can be printed out, cut along dotted line, and folded into a small book)

at the turn of the millennium, i tried to muster up interest in a global jam session. anyone interested in trying again this year? please howl your good vibes at the full moon for 5 minutes starting at 11:55pm, wherever you are...

sonic fabric joseph beuys hat

i have long been striving to create the perfect piece of radionic headgear. the sonic fabric fedora could well be IT. and it's a multiple! if only joseph beuys were still around. this one's for you, joe...