LOS ANGELES — Part of Getty’s region-wide initiative PST ART: Art & Science Collide, Atmosphere of Sound: Sonic Art in Times of Climate Disruption, a seven-exhibition program presented by the UCLA Art|Sci Center, continues with Iman Person’s Memory Garden and Patricia Cadavid’s Electronic_Khipu_ at the California NanoSystems Institute and the Fowler Museum respectively. Curated by Victoria Vesna and Anuradha Vikram, Atmosphere of Sound combines sound art and science to engage audiences in deep reflection on climate-related issues.
On view at the California NanoSystems Institute, Person’s Memory Garden is an immersive sonic installation that explores Black speculative archives through somatic memory, ethnobotany, and land extraction. Suspended glass sculptures with ceramic embellishments represent the shape of the hippocampus—the brain’s memory center. Historical and live weather data from St. Ann, Jamaica—such as humidity, air quality, and temperature—triggers layered audio throughout the gallery and the soundscape features a soft drone of 40-hertz tonal frequencies, a potential tool for improving cognitive functions in individuals with memory loss conditions.
On view at the Fowler Museum, Cadavid’s Electronic _Khipu_ is an instrument for interaction and experimental sound generation operated by weaving knots with conductive rubber cords into which sound compositions are encoded. This instrument is based on an Andean quipu, the ancient textile “computer” used for the processing, encryption, and transmission of information in knots and cords of cotton and wool.
WHO/WHAT
WHEN
Feb. 14–March 14, 2025
WHERE
UCLA’s California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI)
UCLA Art|Sci Gallery, fifth floor
570 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles
WHO/WHAT
Patricia Cadavid, Electronic _Khipu_
WHEN
Feb. 14–May 2, 2025
WHERE
308 Charles E Young Dr N, Los Angeles
SOUND AND SCIENCE: FROM SIGNAL TO NOISE
Sat., March 15, 8 p.m.
The Nimoy
Sound and Science: From Signal to Noise, from the UCLA Art|Sci Center, is a curated showcase of sound art performances created in collaboration with scientists from fields such as physics, biology, astrophysics, and botany, designed to explore the vast landscape of auditory and visual experiences. Featuring an array of local and emerging experimental sonic artists working in “eco-acoustics,” the performances are intrinsically related to the artists’ activist work, which addresses issues ranging from ecological and social to economic and racial.
UPCOMING
Atmosphere of Sound will continue with two additional exhibitions:
April 4–25, 2025
Joel Ong’s In Silence…
May 9–June 6, 2025
Sholeh Asgary’s Qanat and Ghatel
Sholeh Asgary + the Ad Hoc Collective for Improvising’s Mourning Technologies for Future Griefs
