Opening Reception: Sunday, May 19, 2-5pm
Fern Room at Lincoln Park Conservatory
2391 N. Stockton Drive, Chicago
Free admission with reservation
Any guest for the opening reception will be expected to register as a visitor either
in advance or upon arrival to the Conservatory.
Join us for the opening reception of In Relation to [Ferns]. This collaborative sound installation arose from the graduate seminar “Sound, Performance, and Land” at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, co-taught by Bill and Stephanie Sick Distinguished Visiting Professor Raven Chacon and Whitney Johnson. After visiting the Lincoln Park Conservatory, reading texts engaged with indigenous sound practice, and conceptualizing the land we inhabit, four teams of artists produced multichannel works in sound and performance. In conjunction with this installation, the collective is releasing the LP In Relation to [Ferns] with sound, images, and language exploring the botanical archive, decolonizing human-organic interaction, and futuring our embodied presence with this land.
Stomata - Yousif Alzayed, Patrick Glennon, and Steph Patsula
Stomata is an electroacoustic composition designed to breathe along with the ferns.
Wind.snow - Dan Greenwood and Virginia Kennard
Wind.snow includes commercially recorded wind sounds from Wellington, New Zealand,
VHS recorded snow storms from Ashfield, Massachusetts, USA, and a performance with
modified sleep machine, live recording, and mobile recording device in Chicago, Illinois,
USA.
How to Pop a Balloon - Liz Flood, Sam Anthem, and Mauricio López F.
How much information can one container hold? Made with balloons and breath.
Researched and inflated by Sam Anthem, Mauricio López F., and Liz Flood.
No name in the throat - Nick Metcalfe, Blue McCall, and Sarah Lutkenhaus
No name in the throat is a sound composition by Nick Metcalfe and Sarah Lutkenhaus
activated live throughout the installation by performance artist Bambi Kunst.”
“In Relation to [Ferns]” was commissioned by Experimental Sound Studio for the Florasonic sound installation series, a partnership with the Chicago Park District. The 2024-2025 Florasonic season is supported by the Puffin Foundation Ltd. and the Paul M. Angell Family foundation. ESS programs & services are made possible through the generosity of our members and donors. Major support is provided by the DEW Foundation, Ruth Foundation for the Arts, Walder Foundation, Illinois Arts Council Agency, Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, New Music USA, and The Alice M. Ditson Fund.
About Raven Chacon
Raven Chacon is a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, performer, and installation artist from Fort Defiance, Navajo Nation. He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Toronto, ON.
About Whitney Johnson
Whitney Johnson interprets the unknown with sound. Playing viola and composing with sine waves, tuning forks, electronics, organ, voice, and tape.