whole body listening

Currently on exhibit at The Rubin Museum of Art until 8 January 2018 is The World Is Sound, featuring works of over twenty artists exploring how sound and our sense of hearing shape daily lives, traditions, histories, stories, and all existence.

The exhibition shifts the focus from the visual and explores the power of sound and the practice of listening. Site specific and special installations take over the entire museum with the major part located on the sixth floor.

As we step into the main doors, we are greeted with a recording of people chanting "Om," soothing sounds that initiate us into a serene world.

The copula at the top and the whole staircase spiraling down all floors and located at the center of the building lends itself perfectly to the work of art called Le Corps Sonore.

On the other floors more sound installations are incorporated into the museum's permanent art exhibits, enhancing our experience of historical Himalayan art pieces with chanted sacred mantras built into vibrating acoustics on nearby walls.

Read all about the fascinating architecture in The Rubin blog, "Designing for the Unseeable".

Exhibit photos were not allowed, luckily there are many images made available to us by The Rubin and Spiral, their free publication.

The initial issue of the magazine amplifies the sound exhibit themes and explores further afield. Scholars, scientists, writers, artists, and practitioners share their expertise on sound and how it envelops us and impacts our lives.

Before leaving I wrote a note for our sound healing classmates who will come by later. Dropping it into the slot was like sending off a message in a bottle.