Sound Space is officially open at ArtPrize 10!
SOUND SPACE
Sound Installation
ArtPrize 10
Troy Ramos
Detroit Pitch Night Winner 2018
The Fifth Third Center
111 Lyon Street
Grand Rapids, MI 49053
“As it is, we are merely bolting our lives—gulping down undigested experiences as fast as we can stuff them in—because awareness of our own existence is so superficial and so narrow that nothing seems to us more boring than simple being. If I ask you what you did, saw, heard, smelled, touched and tasted yesterday, I’m likely to get nothing more than the thin, sketchy outline of the few things that you noticed, and of those only what you thought worth remembering. But suppose you could answer, “It would take me forever to tell you, and I am much too interested in what’s happening now.” -Alan Watts
In order to be strongly interested in what’s happening now, we need, in some way, to connect with the openness of finding meaningful experiences. Often we go into artistic spaces to look for the specific works…the painting, the video installation, the sculpture, and so on. As significant as the actual works are, I think there is something at least equally meaningful beyond that idea, which is: the experience of having an interaction with art. Sound Space is about creating experiences which encourage reflection and pause, and asks the visitor to interact with the artwork for a longer period of time- not for the benefit of the work, rather for the potential benefit of the observer. This work is about what the experience does to you, the effect your experience has on the work, others around you, and the space you’re in. This work encourages art as being connected with human experience.
Sound Space is a sound and light installation. The space is the visual aspect, curated to set the stage for what observers hear and experience. I’m interested in creating a platform in which these human experiences can happen. Sound Space would invite connections between the visitor and the work, opening up the possibility for anything to occur to them or happen during their visit. Sound Space is a platform for observers to experience themselves.
The Work
The setting is designed to encourage the visitor to stay and listen to the work for as long as they wish. The sound work for Sound Space was created specially for this ArtPrize 10 project. The work was composed after the venue and space were determined so that the spirit of the venue and space were in my thoughts as I created this sound work.
To hear past original works, I’d invite you to visit the following sites: iTunes, Amazon and at www.troyramos.bandcamp.com.