A sonic immersion “sculpture” was assembled in the Dome at Woolsey Hall. Artist Aaron Taylor Kuffner uses the gongs and bells of the Indonesian gamelan to create sonic sculptures specific to unusual spaces. The Dome at Woolsey is one such place. Up three flights of stairs, I happen upon two coeds. They welcome me to the installation and tell me to cover my shoes with these flimsy one pass booties. After a brief struggle, I ask if I can ditch my shoes and the booties. The purpose is to not track sand or dirt into the Dome, I was happy to comply in my socks. I enter the Dome, an inner circle with comfy chairs and high pile carpet housed a few sonic travellers. Around the perimeter, banks of gongs, percussive bells, were mathematically struck to create the immersive sound. A player piano gamelan, the sculpture was connected in series so the electromagnetic pulses forced the sound. The echo and sustain were meditative and forced me into a deep listening mode for about a half hour. I circled the Dome to get a feel for the frequency of striking the individual pans. Some were struck every few seconds while others took minutes as intervals. A guidebook accompanying the sculpture showed other spaces that housed Kuffner’s work. When an electromagnetic gamelatron comes to your town, get off the couch and check it out.
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