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    Treble

    Treble

    May 6–Aug 1, 2004

    Francis Alÿs + Rafael Ortega, Joseph Beuys, Grady Gerbracht, Joseph Grigely & Amy Vogel, Erik Hanson, Jim Hodges, Jorge Macchi, Euan MacDonald, Emmanuel Madan, Terry Nauheim, Max Neuhaus, Cornelia Parker , Andrea Ray, Dario Robleto, Steve Roden, David Schafer, Jude Tallichet, Mungo Thomson, Brad Tucker, Anton Vidokle & Cristian Manzutto, Stephen Vitiello, and Paulo Vivacqua
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    Treble is a group exhibition that addresses the presence and influence of sound in the production of contemporary art. Challenging the categories of "sound art" and "visual art," this exhibition explores the spectrum between the two practices. Treble -- in addition to defining a high pitch -- also means triple, and the exhibition focuses on how sound informs the way artists think about sculpture, drawing, and architecture.

    The last decade has seen a resurgence of artists working with sound as a sculptural form, both metaphorically and materially. Just as contemporary sculptors are challenging the rules of sculpture as an artistic category, artists who work with sound are developing languages that defy medium-specificity. Many take cues from the late 60s and early 70s, looking to the Minimalist and Fluxus aesthetics of John Cage, David Tudor, or Yoko Ono, while others draw inspiration from more recent popular music cults. Max Neuhaus, among the first to explore the relationship between sound and space in his early installations - and whose drawings are included in Treble - provides an important foundation for the exhibition with his call for the dissolution of the term "Sound Art."

    Choosing to highlight the many ways in which sound can inform the production of contemporary art, this exhibition explores conceptual, material, and situational approaches that generate actual and/or implied aural experiences. The works in Treble exist beyond the limiting categories that define "sound art," "sculpture," "drawing," or "architecture," reflecting a generation of artists seeking to move freely between disciplines. These artists create meditations on drawing through sound, sound through drawing, sculpture as an ephemeral and time-based sonic experience, objects as potential sound, and architecture as an acoustic vessel.

    Treble is curated by guest curator Regine Basha.

    Sponsors

    SculptureCenter's exhibitions and public programs are supported by The Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts and The Lily Auchincloss Foundation.