Sounds of Silence
CODA Museum NL, Gelderland, Apeldoorn, 09/14/2014 - 01/15/2015
ABOUT
Silence has become a rare commodity. Sound is everywhere; sometimes desired but often unwanted. Every day, people are overstimulated by sounds that place strong demands on all senses. In an environment that requires accessibility and availability, there is little room for the experience of peace and silence. The exhibition Sounds of Silence in CODA Museum offers visitors the opportunity to escape the noise of daily life and to enjoy the silence in contemporary visual art.Sounds of Silence zooms in on the voice of silence, alternating experiences of sublimated silence, serene beauty and inner peace. Guest curator Wim van der Beekwas commissioned by CODA director Carin Reinders to put together a varied exhibition with works by 15 artists from the Netherlands and abroad.
Sounds of Silence reveals curious frictions between the sensation of sound and silence. For instance, a painting of a train thundering past or of an explosion witnessed from a great distance can invoke an unexpected hush. The sensation of overwhelming silence in nature is sometimes coupled with (natural) noises. The idyll of a waterfall is accompanied by the experience of water splattering incessantly, while the silence in an seemingly quiet environment can suddenly be brutally disrupted by a low-passing Boeing 737 or by loud tourists not featured in a painting. Generally, the total absence of sound is perceived as ‘absolute silence’. In other cases, it is subtle sounds that emphasise silence. Experiencing serene beauty and harmony can also stimulate the sensation of silence. In many cases, the voice of silence is synonymous with inner peace.
Various experiences of silence emerge on different levels. There is the silence of an empty interior in which a silent family sits at the table, like Vincent van Gogh’s potato eaters did at one time. The installation by Levi van Veluw is a precursor of three new films that will premiere in CODA Museum. Interior pieces crumble in slow motion without producing a sound. Similarly, the deafening noise of a bomb exploding is filtered out of a drawing made by Raquel Maulwurf. In the series Colliding galaxies she translates the silence of the universe into a cosmic experience. In a film by Ruben Bellinkx, humanity is literally silenced. Men hold up a solid table top between their jaws, making speech impossible. The sacred act transforms the space to a serene place where camera placement and penetrating clair obscur elements guarantee meditative moments.
Bertil Nilsson and Ronald Bal sublimate silence in photos that establish an unusual connection between man and nature. Bal transfers recollections from our collective memory to a mysterious, forested environment. Here, stories from classical mythology and the bronze statue of the mermaid in Copenhagen come to life in a new context. Nilsson realises a symbiosis between various artistic disciplines. In picturesque natural landscapes, ballet dancers engage in interactions with pigments that refer to the impact of acts of painting. Rob Sweere, Regula Maria Müller and Truc-Anh focus on the roll and meaning of cloudscapes as bearers of silence. DAANOE and Jan Ros emphasise silence in, respectively, imposing photos of interiors and paintings of furnished spaces in which silence and the absence of people are synonymous with a world without sound. Ineke van Harten, Gertjan Scholte-Albers and Sandra Kruisbrink do the same but opt for the context of landscapes. Van Harten does this in abstract painting, while Scholte-Albers works figuratively. In Sandra Kruisbrink’s drawings, fragility and silence follow each other naturally. Uche Okpa Iroha and Hidenori Mitsue take the spectator to African and Asian spheres and surroundings, where it becomes apparent that silence is experienced or visualised differently in other cultures but that it is simultaneously a timeless and universal phenomenon.
Sounds of Silence encourages visitors to forget and let go of the commotion of everyday life for a while. This exhibition is not only interesting to lovers of modern visual art but to everyone looking for a slower pace of life and inner peace. Sounds of Silence makes the sensation of deafening silence visible and audible in a unique way.
Image above: 'Family filmstill'- Levi van Veluw
For More Information
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Silence has become a rare commodity. Sound is everywhere; sometimes desired but often unwanted. Every day, people are overstimulated by sounds that place strong demands on all senses. In an environment that requires accessibility and availability, there is little room for the experience of peace and silence. The exhibition Sounds of Silence in CODA Museum offers visitors the opportunity to escape the noise of daily life and to enjoy the silence in contemporary visual art.Sounds of Silence zooms in on the voice of silence, alternating experiences of sublimated silence, serene beauty and inner peace. Guest curator Wim van der Beekwas commissioned by CODA director Carin Reinders to put together a varied exhibition with works by 15 artists from the Netherlands and abroad.
Sounds of Silence reveals curious frictions between the sensation of sound and silence. For instance, a painting of a train thundering past or of an explosion witnessed from a great distance can invoke an unexpected hush. The sensation of overwhelming silence in nature is sometimes coupled with (natural) noises. The idyll of a waterfall is accompanied by the experience of water splattering incessantly, while the silence in an seemingly quiet environment can suddenly be brutally disrupted by a low-passing Boeing 737 or by loud tourists not featured in a painting. Generally, the total absence of sound is perceived as ‘absolute silence’. In other cases, it is subtle sounds that emphasise silence. Experiencing serene beauty and harmony can also stimulate the sensation of silence. In many cases, the voice of silence is synonymous with inner peace.
Various experiences of silence emerge on different levels. There is the silence of an empty interior in which a silent family sits at the table, like Vincent van Gogh’s potato eaters did at one time. The installation by Levi van Veluw is a precursor of three new films that will premiere in CODA Museum. Interior pieces crumble in slow motion without producing a sound. Similarly, the deafening noise of a bomb exploding is filtered out of a drawing made by Raquel Maulwurf. In the series Colliding galaxies she translates the silence of the universe into a cosmic experience. In a film by Ruben Bellinkx, humanity is literally silenced. Men hold up a solid table top between their jaws, making speech impossible. The sacred act transforms the space to a serene place where camera placement and penetrating clair obscur elements guarantee meditative moments.
Bertil Nilsson and Ronald Bal sublimate silence in photos that establish an unusual connection between man and nature. Bal transfers recollections from our collective memory to a mysterious, forested environment. Here, stories from classical mythology and the bronze statue of the mermaid in Copenhagen come to life in a new context. Nilsson realises a symbiosis between various artistic disciplines. In picturesque natural landscapes, ballet dancers engage in interactions with pigments that refer to the impact of acts of painting. Rob Sweere, Regula Maria Müller and Truc-Anh focus on the roll and meaning of cloudscapes as bearers of silence. DAANOE and Jan Ros emphasise silence in, respectively, imposing photos of interiors and paintings of furnished spaces in which silence and the absence of people are synonymous with a world without sound. Ineke van Harten, Gertjan Scholte-Albers and Sandra Kruisbrink do the same but opt for the context of landscapes. Van Harten does this in abstract painting, while Scholte-Albers works figuratively. In Sandra Kruisbrink’s drawings, fragility and silence follow each other naturally. Uche Okpa Iroha and Hidenori Mitsue take the spectator to African and Asian spheres and surroundings, where it becomes apparent that silence is experienced or visualised differently in other cultures but that it is simultaneously a timeless and universal phenomenon.
Sounds of Silence encourages visitors to forget and let go of the commotion of everyday life for a while. This exhibition is not only interesting to lovers of modern visual art but to everyone looking for a slower pace of life and inner peace. Sounds of Silence makes the sensation of deafening silence visible and audible in a unique way.
Image above: 'Family filmstill'- Levi van Veluw
For More Information