Jeff Talman: Sea of Curves

J E F F T A L M A N S T U D I O – N E W Y O R K

http://www.jefftalman.com

a pioneer of the use of resonance in artworks… Intute, Oxford University

The Pouch Cove Foundation, Newfoundland, Canada presents

S E A O F C U R V E S (2012)

A Shoreline Sound Installation, July 14 – July 20

International artist Jeff Talman will bring his new sound installation, Sea of Curves, to the

rugged, wind-swept far eastern tip of North America in Pouch Cove, Newfoundland, Canada in

July. A collaborative project with ocean researchers Matt Fowler and James Traer, the

installation's sound source is oceanic waves. Project sound includes the ‘hum of the earth’

–

Oscillation sounds of the earth as created by the worldwide impact of ocean wave sounds on the

sea floor, much as a thudding bass sound might cause the floor and walls of a room to vibrate.

Talman contacted more than a dozen researchers, including oceanographers, seismologists, a

fluid dynamics specialist and a volcanologist in preparing for the installation. Their comments

and recording resources led the artist to focus on sounds of the surface waves as heard from

different perspectives. Project sound was captured in the media of water, land and air – by

hydrophone (underwater microphone) in the mid-Atlantic, by seismometer from Deerlake,

Newfoundland and by microphone along the shore of the Atlantic.

The symphonic character of the composed, multi-channel sound mirrors subtle inflections and dramatic shifts in light, transparency, tone and mood of the sea. More than a meditation, Sea of Curves examines the micro-anatomy of ocean wave sounds including their deep impact on the earth itself. Presented on the dramatic coastline at this extreme point of North America, the installation engages the crashing waves as a sonic backdrop from which the work’s sound again unfolds.

Sonic images of stark immensity and overwhelming, elementary force emerge from those depths to offer a powerful metaphor for the timeless and the unknown.

Sea of Curves opens on July 14 and runs daily at 7 PM, weather permitting, through July 20,

2012 in Pouch Cove, Newfoundland, Canada.

Installation Details

Exhibition opening: 7 PM, Saturday, July 14, Pouch Cove, Newfoundland, Canada (exact

location TBA, see www.jefftalman.com for details).

Exhibition dates: July 14 - 20, presented daily at 7 PM, weather permitting. Sound program

duration is approximately forty-five minutes.

Acknowledgements

Project support for Sea of Curves by the Pouch Cove Foundation, Newfoundland, Canada. The

foundation has hosted artists from Canada, the United States, Ireland, England, Russia, Bulgaria,

Poland, and the Netherlands.

Project collaborator Matt Fowler is a Research Assistant in the Vents Acoustic Monitoring

Project at Oregon State University, Newport, OR. Collaborator Dr. James Traer, is an

oceanographer with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of San Diego, CA.

The Vents Project and the Scripps Institution are both programs of the National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration.

Thanks to researchers Milton Garces, Thomas Rossby, Fred Duennebier, Rex Andrew, Peter

Worcester, Ralph Steven, Tom Bolmer, Arthur Newhall, Robert Dziak, and John M. Toole.

Special thanks to David K. Mellinger of the NOAA Vents Acoustic Monitoring Project for

support with Ishmael Acoustic Monitoring software.

About the Artist

Jeff Talman’s installations investigate the nature of sound and primal forces (light, gravity, the

sea, the wind, stellar radiance) and their effects in generating concepts of natural and

architectural space, human presence, place and time. In exploring these areas his work

incorporates multi-channel sound, video, sculpture, programming, photography, graphics, the

voice and interaction with large and often historic sites.

Talman’s major achievement in sound is reflexive resonance, in which the ambient resonance of

an installation site becomes its sole sound source. He has created installations for Cathedral

Square, Cologne, the MIT Media Lab, The Kitchen, St James Cathedral in Chicago, Eyebeam,

Galleria Mazzini in Genoa, Italy, Art Omi and in numerous museums, galleries and alternative

spaces including four installations in the Bavarian Forest, Germany.

In August 2011 his Nature of the Night Sky, a collaborative work in stellar resonance with

astrophysicist Dr. Daniel Huber (NASA), was the subject of a Weekend Edition interview with

Jackie Lyden on NPR and was released on CD by New Domain Records. Sea of Curves also will

be released on the same label later in the year.

Talman has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the New York

Foundation for the Arts along with other numerous awards and international artist residencies.

Initially trained as a musician, Talman attended and eventually taught and conducted orchestras

at Columbia University and the City College of New York. He also taught at the Massachusetts

College of Art and Emerson College. Jeff Talman lives in New York City.

www.jefftalman.com

info@jefftalman.com

© Copyright 2012 by Jeff Talman