Creative Time: Consuming Places : Bill Fontana

Upon entering into the open shell of the Tobacco Warehouse, visitors discover Fontana's site specific sound sculpture, created from recordings of the Brooklyn Bridge that were made during its centennial celebration in 1983, as well as sounds from the East River and New York Harbor. Using Meyer Sound Beam speakers mounted on the nearby Empire Stores, Fontana projects these recordings into the Tobacco Warehouse to generate multiple zones of reflected sound. As this acoustic collage moves throughout the space, visitors experience an unexpected relationship between the ambient noise of daily life and the history of the City.

Bill Fontana is internationally known for his experimental work in sound. He has worked since the late 60's in developing his unique art form, and has realized more than 50 sound sculptures, 20 radio projects, and sound installations for natural science museums. He has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Japan U.S. Friendship Commission. His work has been exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, The Museum Ludwig, Cologne, and the Art History and Natural History Museums in Vienna. Fontana's recent work includes a public art project in Paris called Sound Island at the Arc de Triomphe,1994, and Acoustical Visions of Venice commissioned for the 48th Venice Biennale, 1999.

http://www.resoundings.org