„The Place Where You Go to Listen” (2006) by John Luther Adams – An Artistic Mirror

 

I watched the three short audio clips of Adam’s “Place”, a permanent sound-and-light installation at the Museum of the North in Fairbanks, Alaska. It gave me an idea of Adam’s concept, yet I think you have to be there in order to experience it. The first one, “Revealing the Aurora Bells”, starts of being intense, strident and insistent. Then, the sound ends being more melodic and quieter. The second one, “Summer Solstice with Earthquake”, reveals an earthquake event. In real life, the low frequency earthquake sounds can barely be heard but Adams managed to make people feel and hear the phenomenon in “The Place”. The audio is characterized by a consistent tone throughout, eventually several tones are added to it. “Summer Solstice 24 hours” illustrates 24 hours of change in about 30 seconds. The color fields are fascinating and the whole shown process seems unreal to me. Besides the sounds, the spectacle itself is shown on screen in all clips. I find the clips impressing and they do indeed make you feel closer to nature since you can actively watch a process happening. Yet, it feels unreal. I think that besides connecting you yourself to nature, it might also connect you to your surrounding and the people experiencing it with you. The title “The Place Where You Go to Listen” implies not only to listen to the surroundings, I suppose it also inspires to listen inside you. The sounds influence you to stand still for a moment, reflect and pause your thoughts.

I also like Adam’s idea of transcendence so that “The Place” intends to draw a connection between you and the deep within the earth. He gave nature a voice leading to people experiencing a journey through the physical, cultural and spiritual landscapes of the Arctic. A computer program translates real-time data streams from geophysical events into sound and color signals. Consequently, Adam’s installation seems like an artistic mirror that raises awareness of the natural world. It does not only mirror nature, it reveals unheard vibrations such as in the “Summer Solstices”. The electronic sounds seem natural since geophysical data was used as material for music. Furthermore, the music gives messages from the world to the audience. This realization is also referred to as “sonic geography” indicating that a place is understood as music and music as place. Adam’s seeks to not only represent the environment but transform it. That is why he combines science with art: he uses science to examine the way things are and art to show how they could be like.

Personally, I would like to experience Adam’s installation in real life. I think his “Place” is very important since it deepens our understanding of nature. It creates awareness which is much needed in the age of digitalization. We tend to be online instead of going outside into nature. Adam’s make sure to demonstrate the need of nature.