I was happy to be a part of “Covid Conversations: Life in a Time of Corona” podcast, through Ohio State University’s Center For Folklore Studies. Host Rachel Hopkin brought together Finnish composer, sound artist, and filmmaker Päiví Takala and myself for a fascinating conversation on our practices, our reaction to the pandemic, and our current projects. I hope you enjoy it!
Aquarium Drunkard: Dao Strom and Brian Harnetty In Conversation
So exciting to be in conversation with my friend Dao Strom in Aquarium Drunkard, to support her album TRAVELER'S ODE and book INSTRUMENT. Both are phenomenal, and I can't recommend them enough! We talk of sound, language, memory, and more.So exciting to be in conversation with my friend Dao Strom in Aquarium Drunkard, to support her album TRAVELER'S ODE and book INSTRUMENT. Both are phenomenal, and I can't recommend them enough! We talk of sound, language, memory, and more.
Read the full article here.
"Forest Listening Rooms" Part of "Listening To Trees" Dialogue, at ZKM, Germany
It was wonderful to be a part of this online workshop, all about listening to trees, as part of the "Critical Zones" exhibition at ZKM - Zentrum für Kunst und Medien Karlsruhe, where "Forest Listening Rooms" was a part of the discussion.
Where the Forest Meets the Field: Sound Installation at the Gund Gallery
To complete my year as an artist-in-residence with the Gund Gallery at Kenyon College, I compiled and collaged recordings I made throughout the year as a continuous sound installation. Called Where the Forest Meets the Field, it is now up and running at the Gund Gallery through August, and it offers a sonic representation of the rural landscapes of Gambier and the Brown Family Environmental Center. If you'd like to hear an excerpt accompanied by a short essay, click below. Or, if you are in the area, you can hear it in person at the gallery here.
Introducing: Winesap Records
Over the past fifteen years, I've worked with many amazing record labels, including Atavistic in Chicago, Dust-to-Digital in Atlanta, and Karl in Berlin. Now, I am adding my own to the mix, called Winesap Records. It is named after the Winesap apples I remember eating as a child from my grandfather's orchard in Junction City, Ohio. Back in 2009, I released Silent City (on Atavistic), and the song "And Under the Winesap Tree" obliquely referred to those trees and the persistent memories of childhood and family.
I've already quietly released three albums on Winesap, and I will soon be adding Words and Silences, too. Plus: a big thanks to Samantha Rehark for her logo design work.
And finally: please note that, even though I am a big fan of (and prefer) Bandcamp's model of supporting artists, these albums can now be found on other streaming services, too, including Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube. Happy listening!
"Words and Silences" Selected for MAP Fund Grant
I'm so excited to share that my project Words and Silences has been awarded a 2021 MAP Fund Grant. Their support is a game changer, so that the project can be completed and performed. Their support also allows me to think and work deeply with the material, which is invaluable. To learn more about the MAP Fund and the amazing artist projects for 2021, click here.
EXPLORE AN “ACTIVATION GUIDE” MADE IN COLLABORATION WITH THE GUND GALLERY
I am near the conclusion of my year-long Art of Trees residency with the Gund Gallery at Kenyon College. The gallery has generously made this "activation guide," highlighting the listening sessions and learning process I've been developing with students and faculty. You can download a PDF of the guide here, and use for yourself or as a teaching tool.
Resonance Journal Interview: "Listening to the Democratic Forest"
Resonance: The Journal of Sound and Culture published an interview I did with Alex Sayf Cummings in their most recent issue. Titled "Listening to the Democratic Forest," we talk about how listening can be a radical act of attention, trust, and even love. We also talked of sound art, Appalachian Ohio, environment, political and cultural change, and Wendell Berry. You can read the full interview here.
"Forest Listening Rooms" at Columbus Museum of Art
Happy to announce that “Forest Listening Rooms” will be part of an exhibition at the Columbus Museum of Art, in Ohio. Called Partially Buried: Land-Based Art in Ohio, 1970 to Now, the exhibition opens this Saturday and runs through November 28. More info can be found here. Picture: speakers for Forest Listening Room being installed.
Put It In Your Calendar -- "Shawnee, Ohio"
SHAWNEE, OHIO 2021 PREMIERE SCREENING TAKES PLACE AT WEXNER CENTER FOR THE ARTS ON MARCH 9, 2021
On March 9, the screening premiere of Shawnee, Ohio will take place at the Wexner Center for the Arts. It will be online, and is free. Learn more here. Bringing together the full album and archival and contemporary footage, this version both captures the essence of the performance and allows the audience to deeply connect with the material. I am really excited to share this with you and hope you can tune in on March 9th. It will then be available to view through March 23.
"Forest Listening Rooms" on Phantom Power Podcast
It was such a pleasure to work with Mack Hagood on an episode of his Phantom Power podcast, exploring and discussing "Forest Listening Rooms" -- it gave me a chance to recreate some of the sounds and voices from the project. Give it a listen here!
New Track: New Year's Eve Party (Of One)
Read my latest newsletter and listen to this new track from "Words & Silences" featuring monk and writer Thomas Merton alongside my own wonderful ensemble. Here he's celebrating New Year's Eve in solitude in 1967 at his hermitage. We have all been wrestling with the urge to be social and the need to stay apart, especially over the holidays, and this is a reminder that we can still celebrate––even in solitude––with humor and wonder and joy. Listen to it here.
#ContemplativeListening #ThomasMerton #Solitude #NewYearsEve #SoundArchives #WordsandSilences
Forest Listening Rooms Part of Guggenheim Environmental Justice Practicum
The Forest Listening Rooms project was included in a fascinating “artist toolkit” called A Community is a Garden and was part of an Environmental Justice Practicum, called "Sustainable Futures," hosted by the Guggenheim Museum. Here, Yale student researchers created a toolkit to show how artists and community members work together to create “spaces of inclusion and participation for social and communal transformation.” You can learn more here, and download a more in-depth PDF booklet here.
Special Newsletter: 2020 Year-in-Review
Read my latest newsletter to learn about projects, albums, and writings for 2020 and into the new year. And: stay in touch! Subscribe!
Watch Live Performance of Many Hands
Last Friday, the Fuse Factory asked me to perform for their “Live Vids for Covid” series. You can watch the performance here, where I play selections from the first volume of Many Hands as a solo set. You can listen to and purchase the album here. Many thanks to the Fuse Factory for this opportunity!
Live Performance of "Many Hands" Friday, October 9, at 8:00 PM
I will be performing selections from last year’s album, Many Hands, live on Twitch for the Fuse Factory’s “Factory Streams” series this Friday, October 9, at 8:00. You can join in here. See you then!
September 2020 Newsletter: Where the Forest Meets the Field
Please read and sign up for my newsletter! This month: a nice article on "Forest Listening Rooms" from the National Forest Foundation, and updates on the "Art of Trees" project with the Gund Gallery at Kenyon College. You can find it here.
Visiting Artist at Kenyon College
I'm excited to be a visiting artist this year through the Gund Gallery at Kenyon College, where I'll be working with students and community members on socially distant sound walks and listening sessions for the "Art of Trees" project! We already had our first session this week, where we visited the Pine Grove at the The Brown Family Environmental Center:
http://www.thegundgallery.org/2020/08/visiting-artist-brian-harnetty-contributes-to-art-of-trees/
Forest Listening Rooms Featured in National Forest Foundation Article
Here is a nice article from the National Forest Foundation, featuring the recording and community work that I have been doing in the Wayne National Forest in Ohio. You can read it here.