"Studiosound: Dreaming in Sound" Exhibition

The Studio Museum in Harlem

poster for "Studiosound: Dreaming in Sound" Exhibition

This event has ended.

The abstract ethereal beats from StudioSound artist Ramon Silva’s Dreaming in Sound are at once nostalgic and contemporary, evoking the languor and beauty of a remembered or imagined summertime. Electronically produced beats meld with more organic sonic textures to produce a soundscape in which the listener can easily imagine the vibrancy and tradition of a diverse selection of urban locations. Interested in how sound affects and recalls memories, Silva pulls inspiration from artist Hurvin Anderson (currently on view), whose paintings of both public and private sites of social assembly, such as barbershops and city parks, are translated into stitched-sounds that evoke Harlem’s rich musical traditions and conjure new images of the vibrant streetscapes of a Harlem summer. Much like Anderson’s barbershop paintings, Silva’s compositions are serene and minimal, inviting the listener to fill the sonic space with memories and stories.

Silva’s self-exploration through sound uses Stevie Wonder’s “That Girl” (1982) as a departure point for an artistic approach that prioritizes emotion over formal musical comprehension. Untrained in music, Silva learned to create through listening. Though he did not exactly understand the lyrics to “That Girl,” he remembers listening to the track on repeat because of the way the rhythm made him feel.

“I always listened to music very critically and studied every nuance that I could find in anticipation of the breaks, bridges and harmonies,” he says. “I grew up on hip-hop and was a big fan not only of the music, but also of the cultural identity associated with it: the graffiti, the break-dance crews and the fashion. I was completely enthralled by this phenomenon. But what resonated in me most was the great emotion emitted from certain music. It could be from any genre, it was just about the feeling and the mood it put me in.”

Inspired by artists such as Miles Davis and Carlos Santana, Silva experienced a shift—he discovered the way complex yet minimal compositions allow the listener to transcend the listening experience, close their eyes, and actually see the music. Dreaming in Sound conjures reminiscences and simultaneously pushes a new approach to music-making that melds the visual and the aural, and the sensory and the imaginary.

Silva—a multidisciplinary artist with interests from music to video to visual art—grew up in a rural town in southern California and moved to New York from San Francisco in the summer of 1999 to pursue his visual art aspirations. He began his foray into music production after acquiring an Ensonig ASR-X drum machine while living in a Williamsburg loft full of artists, musicians and writers. His experience as a visual artist greatly impacted his music production; he equates the process of sequencing sound to that of composing color. Silva lives and works in Brooklyn.

StudioSound invites musicians, producers and musical innovators to create original compositions inspired by the works on view. From Daniel Bernard Roumain’s classically inspired interpretation of Chris Ofili’s watercolors to DJ Scientific’s remix and reinvention of Harlem sounds, this commissioned project activates the Museum’s lobby and adds a parallel dimension to the art and artists on view. StudioSound is organized by Ali Evans and Tiffany Hu.

Visit studiomuseum.org/studiosound-ramonsilva to download a track off Dreaming in Sound

Media

Schedule

from July 16, 2009 to October 25, 2009

Artist(s)

Ramon Silva

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