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Writer's picturePeggy Gerardin

When border between art and science is thin

« I am not interested in the resonant characteristics of spaces in a scientific way as much as I am in opening that secret door to the sound situation that you experience in a room » Alvin Lucier.


The sound is captured here in empty vessels and reproduced in the exhibition space by emitting a specific note. The public walking around impacts these notes. Thus, a delicate sound is born from silence.


This display looks like a real scientific installation (the equipment: vases of different sizes, microphones, etc.). What differs from a laboratory is the enhancement of the device: spots, plain colored walls and empty space around it. I understand that the artist wants to distinguish himself from the scientist, but for me, here, the border is thin: count the number of visitors, take notes on their feelings, record each perceived sound, and you enter the world of quantification.

Empty Vessels, 1997, Alvin Lucier.

Musée d'Art Contemporain de Lyon, France. 2019.

Empty Vessels, 1997, Alvin Lucier.

Musée d'Art Contemporain de Lyon, France. 2019.

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