Janelle VanderKelen, Language Unknown, 2022, film still
Take a walk at night. Walk so silently that the bottoms of your feet become ears.
—Pauline Oliveros, Sonic Meditations (1971)
Kansas City, MO, July 16, 2024: Charlotte Street presents a new exhibition titled Ways of Listening, curated by Kimi Kitada, July 26—September 7, 2024. An opening reception will be held on Friday, July 26 from 6:00 – 9:00 PM in the Charlotte Street Gallery. Featuring seven artists, this exhibition delves into the concept of deep listening and becoming attuned to one’s body and its spatial awareness. Artists include: Eepi Chaad (Houston, TX), Jeremy Chen (Grinnell, IA), Camry Ivory (Kansas City, MO), Steve Parker (Austin, TX), Merry Sun (Kansas City, MO), Oscar Trujillo (Kansas City, MO), and Janelle VanderKelen (Knoxville, TN).
Inspired by the radical sound practice of artist Pauline Oliveros (1932-2016), this exhibition honors the legacy of Oliveros, who has deeply influenced the contemporary generation of artists, musicians, dancers, and writers. As an experimental composer and performer, Pauline Oliveros aimed to dispel the subject/object or performer/audience relationship by preventing spectators and creating ways for every person to participate. For the composer’s Sonic Meditations, published in 1971, Oliveros extends an invitation to anyone who wishes to participate, regardless of any musical training. In the spirit of open collaboration, this exhibition will produce a small zine, designed by artist Lilah Powlas. The featured artists of Ways of Listening have each written a sound score, or their own interpretation of a sonic meditation for the audience. This zine is intended to create an extended experience for the viewers, so that they will read and enact the scores outside the gallery space.
Within the gallery, Ways of Listening attempts to dissolve boundaries between visual and sonic forms of art. Some artworks such as Steve Parker’s video work Sonic Meditation for Marching Band, No. 1 directly reference the practice of Pauline Oliveros, who viewed deep listening as a lifelong practice. She described deep listening as “a way of listening in every possible way to everything possible to hear no matter what you are doing.” This awareness of sound prompts viewers to listen acutely to sounds of daily life, nature, one’s own thoughts, and musical sounds. The works of Merry Sun and Camry Ivory encourage particular ways of listening: to the reverberations of a concrete well, and to the electronic sounds of a customized musical paintbrush.
At its core, deep listening requires a de-centering of the self, and focusing on the surrounding site and environment. Artist Janelle VanderKelen brings the audience into an imagined, fantastical space of plant sentience through her short film works. Movement artist and choreographer Oscar Trujillo invites viewers to a somatic, embodied experience through his written score. The large-scale, immersive works of Eepi Chad and Jeremy Chen prompt movement around the works, and viewers become more conscious of their own bodies in the space.
Throughout her practice, Pauline Oliveros sought to articulate the difference between listening and hearing. While hearing can be measured, listening is open, inclusive, and variable to a person’s perception. Ways of Listening creates a finite space meant for deep listening, and the experience of these artworks is open to one’s interpretation.
EXHIBITION PROGRAMMING
All programs are at Charlotte Street (3333 Wyoming St., Kansas City, MO) and are free and open to the public. No reservations required.
Ways of Listening Exhibition Opening Reception – July 26, 2024, 6:00-9:00 PM
Live Performance by artist Camry Ivory – 7:00 PM
Invented by artist Camry Ivory, Coloratura is a system of musical paintbrushes that enables individuals to create art and music simultaneously. The artist will demonstrate this intersection of sound and painting practice in the gallery space.
Somatic Retreat with Oscar Trujillo – July 28, 2024, 12:00-2:00 PM
Oscar Trujillo is an embodiment doula whose practice bridges somatic movement education, bodywork and intuitive energy reading. He facilitates sessions with the expressive arts, trauma support and subtle body healing techniques with individuals, groups and movement organizations. In addition to his work with the body, he is a movement artist and poet. For this two-hour retreat, participants are invited to be present in their bodies to breathe, slow down, and look deeply at the works in the exhibition space. Artist Oscar Trujillo will lead workshop participants in exercises of body awareness and slow looking at the artworks. To participate, please bring a journal and writing implement and wear comfortable clothes to move in. Please bring a yoga mat or pad if you might need extra support.
Sound Bath with Christina Silvius – August 20, 2024, 6:00-7:00 PM
Christina Silvius is a Kansas City improviser, violist, and multidisciplinary artist specializing in long-form improvisation. She builds immersive layered soundscapes with live electronics, looping, viola, and vocals. Christina is drawn to unlocking new sounds through improvisation that aligns with the natural and spiritual worlds. Her practice is informed by sounds of nature, transitional states of being, and sound healing. For this program, Christina will immerse participants in a sound bath, a meditative experience where those in attendance will be bathed in sound waves.
Sequenzas with Krista Kopper & Company – September 7, 2024, 4:00-5:30 PM
Kansas City-based musician Krista Kopper will work with five musicians to perform “Sequenzas” in the gallery space at Charlotte Street. “Sequenzas” is a work composed by Luciano Berio as solo, unaccompanied pieces. The “Sequenzas” showcase the unique sounds that a solo instrument can produce. The pieces are quite challenging to play, so this performance will highlight the extraordinary musical talent in Kansas City. Secondly, these pieces work well in an acoustic environment, so the gallery space will prompt listeners to increase awareness of the sounds they are hearing.
ABOUT CHARLOTTE STREET
Charlotte Street centers Kansas City’s most forward-thinking visual artists, writers, and performers—acting as the primary incubator, provocateur, and connector for the region’s contemporary arts community and its leading advocate on the national stage. Since 1997, Charlotte Street has distributed over $2.5 million in awards and grants to artists and their innovative projects and has hosted countless exhibitions, performances, convenings, and conversations connecting and challenging Kansas City’s contemporary art ecosystem. For more information about Charlotte Street, its awards, programs, and initiatives, visit www.charlottestreet.org.
