Jun 27 2013
The second winner of Prix Ars Electronica Collide @ CERN, American sound sculptor, Bill Fontana, begins his arts residency at CERN on 4 July 2013. Matching a great artist with a great scientist, Bill Fontana will start working with theorist Subodh Patil, his science inspiration partner during his time at CERN.
Fontana will explore the world’s largest and highest-energy particle accelerator, along with other aspects of the CERN site in his project entitled ‘Acoustic Time Travel’. A presentation of the artist’s work and that of his inspiration partner, as well as insight into their future collaboration, will be revealed at CERN’s Globe of Science and Innovation on 4 July. Doors open at 6:30pm.
“The sounds of the Large Hadron Collider and its technology will best be captured and sculpted by one of the world’s leading sound artists,” said CERN Director General Rolf Heuer. “Bill Fontana creates sound pieces out of some of the most iconic buildings and structures in the world, and it is now the turn of the LHC.”
Bill Fontana, whose mantra is “all sound is music” is one of the world’s most renowned sound sculptors. He studied with composer John Cage and since the early 70s, Fontana has used sound as a sculptural medium to interact with our perceptions of visual and architectural spaces.
He has transformed some of the world’s most iconic buildings and locations into sound art, including the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and the tower housing Big Ben in London. His work has been exhibited widely internationally, including at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Tate Modern and Tate Britain, and at the Venice Biennale.
CERN Director General Rolf Heuer will open the public event on 4 July, joined by Ariane Koek, creator of the Collide @ CERN programme, and Horst Hörtner, Director of Futurelab at Ars Electronica in Linz. Bill Fontana and Subodh Patil will make individual presentations of their work and discuss their forthcoming creative collisions at CERN. There will be discussion afterwards, opportunities for questions from the audience, as well as a chance to meet the artist and scientist.
Journalists interested in attending should register with the CERN Press Office by sending a request to [email protected].
Doors open at 18:30 with presentations starting at 19:00.
Anyone interested in attending should reserve their free places by contacting [email protected].
For those who can not attend personally, the event can be followed live via Webcast http://webcast.web.cern.ch/webcast/play.php?event=257199.