SLOW NUMBERS opening at SHOW ROOM in nyc, sun june 10

hope you can join me for the opening of SLOW NUMBERS at SHOW ROOM, 170 suffolk street on the lower east side of manhattan, sunday june 10 from 6 to 8pm. i'll be showing a 24' scroll made of sonic fabric.

the visible, the invisible, and the indivisible

(cross-posted from my other blog, the synergetic omni-solution)

Prevailing thought is like prevailing wind; it requires less effort to allow oneself to be carried along than to set a course that goes against it. Also like wind, thought is often presumed to be invisible. But one can quite easily learn to observe the effects of both on tangible objects, and thereby gain the ability to harness the power of either.

The first lesson in sailing usually occurs on the shoreline. Students are invited to determine from which direction the wind is blowing by looking for clues: flags, trees, boats at anchor, the feel of the breeze on one’s own skin, and through careful observation of subtle variations in the texture of wavelets on the surface of the water itself.

In order to see thought, one only needs to look around oneself. The urge to connect turns into telephones, televisions, and the internet. The inclination to travel manifests as cars, ships, planes, and trains. The need for social organization is revealed in our political systems. And so forth and so on…

But what is a thought, exactly? An electrochemical impulse? Does it require an embodied agent, or is it possible that ambient electrochemical forces cause matter to coalesce into particular patterns and configurations, resulting in the infinite variety of artifacts we find ourselves among? Needs, longings, and desires arrive with the distinct sensation that they are ours alone – but couldn’t the existence of a tree be the outward expression of a fundamental “need” in the universe for an efficient, multifunctional carbon dioxide processing unit?

Sophisticated new investigative apparatus developed around the 17^th century in the form of telescopes and microscopes suggested to their human operators that the world around us could be broken down into parts, and that we ourselves are unique entities that are distinctly separated from the environment in which we find ourselves. Galileo declared “Measure what is measurable, and make measurable what is not so.”  That which could not be made measureable was granted an air of dubiousness, if not eliminated outright.

The scientific method (i.e.: formulate a hypothesis, design and implement an experiment, analyze the result, repeat), however useful it may be for technical applications, was never really intended as an all-purpose standard to which social and philosophical principles should also be applied. Just because we cannot measure intuition, love, compassion, grief, or inspiration certainly does not mean that these things do not exist, or that they are somehow inferior to that which is tangible. Over the course of the past 400 years as human culture has become increasingly industrialized, we have also become more compartmentalized. As we’ve come to put less value on the immeasurable, we’ve rationalized ourselves into a state of intolerance of the nuanced, the complex, the seemingly paradoxical. Things that could be taken as two sides of the same coin are instead viewed as diametrically opposed: art vs. science, religion vs. reason, classical vs. quantum physics; determinism vs. free will; left (hemisphere of the brain or political party) vs. right.

Ironically, at the same time that scientific rationalism has come to dominate prevailing thought, science itself has taken a turn towards subtlety. With advances in quantum theory, we are moving into a strange new domain where things do not function according to the orderly and predictable rules that we have come to rely upon. Tests with subatomic particles are not only practically unrepeatable; they reveal that the very nature of our experiments makes objective observation impossible.

Fortunately there are many other ways to collect and interpret information about our reality. The ability to hold several seemingly contradictory views simultaneously, the willingness to cultivate, explore, and trust subtle sensory signals, the boldness and endurance required to set a course that defies the dominant paradigm – this is the domain of certain artists, poets, musicians, shamans, ecologists, permaculturists, philosophers, and others adept at seeing and feeling connections to the obscured dimensions and forces of nature that others neglect to notice.

Throughout history visionary practitioners from every field of human knowledge have felt compelled to share their particular mode of data processing. A few notable examples might include musician John Coltrane, conceptual artist/social-environmental activist Joseph Beuys, quantum physicist/philosopher David Bohm, writer/scientist Wolfgang Von Goethe, physician/natural scientist Hans Jenny, spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, inventor/futurist Buckminster Fuller, and poet Allen Ginsberg. Through their work, each of these individuals has given form to the otherwise invisible/inaudible. The products of their inspiration resonate in those who experience them – our senses know them to be true without analytical proof.

Goethe called investigation that involves a kind of connectedness to and empathic understanding of a subject delicate empiricism. Beuys believed that by becoming more attuned to the subtle forces of the ecosystems we inhabit we can rediscover innate aptitudes that will help us to mend ourselves, our communities, and the planet. He believed that it is the job of both shamans and artists to shake people out of ordinary, habitual states of mind and to reawaken latent faculties.

Even slight shifts in individual and collective values and intentions could quickly bring new sets of priorities into the mainstream, radically altering prevailing thought. Like a flock of starlings that moves in an elegant cloud of instinctive, constantly modulating cooperation, changes of mind can have an instantaneous ripple effect across an entire culture. When Beuys said everyone is an artist he implied that each of us is not only capable of accessing the same mysterious, improbable, constantly unfolding, infinitely creative phenomena – we are the phenomena. Each of us is an outcropping, an empathic agent of transformation, wired to receive, process, and transmit.

To hone one’s connection with this font of supreme imagination, Allen Ginsberg prescribed this simple but profound experiment to aspiring creative practitioners: “Notice what you notice.” Like a single pebble out of thousands that catches your glance on the beach, the things you find yourself aware of – and the state of awareness itself – these are the clues. Each of us is a receptor for a different part of the same sublime puzzle. Evidence is everywhere. The investigation never ends.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

space 414 in brooklyn

the sonic fabric voidness dress, several ice-cream cone buckyballs (made from 800 cones generously donated by the joy ice cream cone company), and the short film "how to make an ice-cream cone buckyball" will be on exhibit at space 414 in red hook brooklyn until december 22.

shows in new york city

i've got work in two shows in new york city this weekend. artists who use text to say nice things will be up thru tomorrow, but the offering show at space 414 in red hook brooklyn will be up thru november.