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The sounds of architecture. The life of a building consists of the vibration of the structure and the sounds of the people who inhabit it. This body of work focuses on the hidden acoustic identity of a structure providing a temporal window through which we can reinterpret environments that we thought we knew. China Blue is an internationally exhibiting artist who was the first person to record the Eiffel Tower in Paris and NASA's Vertical Gun. She pursues the intersection of sound and architecture. Her work has been shown, galleries and non-profit spaces in Finland, Sweden, France and the US. She was the US representative at OPEN XI, Venice, Italy, an exhibition held in conjunction with the Architecture Biennale. Her work has also been shown at the Melbourne International Arts Festival in Australia and the Armory Fair in New York. Reviews of her work have been published in the New York Times, Art in America, Art Forum, artCritical and NY Arts to name a few. She has been interviewed by France 3 (TV), for the film “Com-mu-nity” produced by the Architecture Institute of America and was the featured artist for the 2006 annual meeting of the Acoustic Society of America. She has been an adjunct professor and Fellow at Brown University in the United States. Her work is exhibited at Galerie Barnoud, Dijon, France and Art Currents, New York, NY.
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The Secret Arch, 2007 The Secret Arch is an interactive installation based on the secret arch, an architectural feature located at Grand Central Station, New York. There, when you whisper into one corner of the arch you can be heard clearly on the opposite side. Users of the Secret Arch are invited to interact with it by recording their passions, fears, phobias or secrets at the arch on site.
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The Calls, 2007 This is a sound piece that is an ode to the World Trade Center. It is based on actual recordings of phone calls and dispatches made during and after the attacks and, air traffic controller recordings just prior to the impacts. Dial tones form the overlying sound structure. The tones selected are derived from statistics about the World Trade Center This piece underscores the failure of communication. Photograph: Seth Horowitz, PhD. |
Negative Ellipse, 2007 Mixed media A sound installation which recreates a segment of the negative space of one of R. Serra’s Ellipses. |
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"Skratch," 2006 7.1 Sound Installation This recording of a pool game with friends was shown in a 7.1 format at the Acoustical Society of America’s annual conference. The 7.1 speaker system was used as the placement of the speakers mimics the pocket placement on a pool table and also creates a very dynamic spatialization of the work. Team members: China Blue, Suzan Dionne, David Opdyke & Richard Humann |
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Mikey vs. Fabio, 2004 Mixed media sound installation This piece is based on a recording of a live ping pong game. The installation is designed with the speakers on opposite ends of a room, thus mimicing the location of the players. The sound track is panned so that the movement of the ball will pass from one side of the room to the other. Each wall then becomes the location of a paddle. The audience when standing in the middle of the room will hear the ball whizzing over head.Review What does sound look like? If some noises, water rushing, trains, rolling, birds chirping, bring predictable associations, the experiment of China Blue’s "Mikey vs. Fabio" adds a welcome geometric abstraction to the mix. In a room filled with the sounds of a ping pong game (played presumably by the Mikey and Fabio of the title), the viewer is surprised to see not a table tennis game in progress but rather a three-part painting diagramming the movement of the ball throughout the recorded match. The sounds take place in time while the painting freezes it, collapsing an audibly interminable set into one flat space. Which medium best captures the spirit of the game? If you can describe the sound of one hand clapping, I’ll tell you the answer. Lori Waxman |
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Dijon Chimes, 2004 Mixed Media with sound Installation at L'Atheneum, Dijon France |
Inside view |
Architectural Therapy exhibition, 2003 “Laura’s Jabbering Jabberwocky” Mixed media with movement sensor and microprocessor. 13w x 41h x 17d
Lance Fung Gallery, New York, NY |
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Architectural Therapy exhibition, 2003
“Plant it in the Love Zone”
Lance Fung Gallery, New York, NY |
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"Josephine and Marion's Vent," 2001 Mixed media with movement sensor Hopper House, Nyack, NY |
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Architectural Therapy, 2003 Installation view Lance Fung Gallery, New York, NY |
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Architectural Therapy, 2003
“Orbital Surge”
Lance Fung Gallery, New York, NY |
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For more information or contact, email China Blue |
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