The Museum of Modern Art is a modernist building in Midtown, Manhattan that houses a wide array of contemporary art dating back to the late 19^th century.  The interior is very roomy with bare white walls where there is no artwork, which allows the patrons to focus on the artworks that are present.  At the time that I went, there was a long line that stretched to the length equivalent to the length between two streets.  If I was not a CUNY student, I would have had to wait an hour, to get my ticket and enter.

One of the special exhibits in the MoMA I viewed was Soundings: A Contemporary Score.  This exhibit housed more than just auditory works; it had works that combined auditory and visual stimulation, and a few pieces of visual works.  The first piece of this exhibition is called Microtonal Wall, by Tristan Perich, is installed into the wall of a long hallway that leads to the other parts of the exhibit and is right after the exhibit’s introduction.  The work consists of fifteen-hundred simple speakers, each producing a different pitch.  From the entrance of the hall, I heard a static-like sound, the kind you may have encountered if you had analog television.  But as you step closer, the sounds being to separate and produce an audible difference.  The cool part about this exhibit was that as I walked by, I could hear a whooshing sound that gradually lowers.  This piece, being the first to be observed, probably alludes to the idea that everyone perceives a stimulus differently and the many differences constitute sound.

Further along was a microphone, with its interior removed and replaced by a light bulb.  I did not spend much time on this piece for it did not interest me.  Pass this piece is a cluster of rooms and walls that create a gallery-like scene.  Straight ahead of the entrance was a glass and metallic piece by Carsten Nicolai, titled wellenwanne Ifo.  This piece is like a physics science fair project.  In the glass is water, above the water are four needles, and a slant is a mirror that reflects the image at the surface of the surface of the water onto the side.  Each needle vibrates in the water to produce ripples.  It is stated that the goal of this work is to allow humans to perceive what we normally cannot.  The vibrations are below the frequencies that humans can hear, but the water is able to transform it into waves that we can see.  This work was a major attraction, as many people gathered around it.  I guess science has a way of attracting viewers.

Isolated from the center of the gallery are dark rooms that show a film or play sounds. One of those rooms held a sound piece called Ultrafine.  If you did not read the plaque, like I did, before entering this piece you would assume that the chirps, hums, sirens, and other noises were sounds in your backyard.  The hums and sirens are similar to the sounds made by cars and emergency vehicles.  But these noises are actually the ultrasonic sounds that we humans can’t hear but are important for many animals.  The work’s creator, Jana Winderen, used hydrophones which are sensitive microphones to record the sounds of bats, insects and fish in remote areas.  These recordings were then processed and compiled into a piece that reflects the side of nature we cannot perceive by bringing the ultrasonic sound into the human hearing range. The piece is very soothing; by stepping into the room, you are immersed in the sounds of nature while the same room doubles as a place to rest and to escape the talking of other patrons.

Another piece, kept in a room similar to that of Ultrafine, is AION.  This piece is made by Jacob Kirkegaard, and is based on Alvin Lucier’s sound piece I am sitting in a room.  Kirkegaard recorded the sounds in rooms near the Chernobyl power plant site and recorded the play-back of the recordings.  After multiple recordings and a video clip, we get AION, a time-lapsed four part video and sound installation.  I only managed to experience the clip of a swimming pool, but listening to it was as if time had stopped.  The sound of water dripping is the most obvious as it is the loudest part and along with the video I felt I was actually at that site and watching time fly by.  And as it played along, the sounds gradually became a hum just as the image fades away.

The third general category of the artworks is the visual only pieces.  These pieces resemble portraits but have a reference to music.  One such piece is Marco Fusinato’s Mass Black Implosion, a row of five ink drawings.  At first glance it appears that random lines emanate from the center, but upon further inspection we see lines that form music scores at the four corners  and that the many black lines seen originate from the notes and converges at a single point.  The lines can also be explained as center to notes but by the title of this piece, that description is not at all fitting.  The focus of all the notes at a single point reflects the connection that the notes have with each other.

I recommend that you experience the Soundings exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art.  The atmosphere within those dark, isolated rooms is perfect for relieving stress.  All the while, soothing sounds resonate with you and keeps you focused.  For the more science-oriented people, there are definite works of art that will draw you in.  Besides the Soundings exhibition, there are many other galleries that I did not personally explore deeply, which I will definitely do the next time I go MoMA.  Just like the fan that hangs from the fourth floor to the second, your experiences at the MoMA will definitely return to you.