RESOUNDING THE TOWER

The Rutgers University-Newark campus is a landmark of mid-century modernist design, and among other buildings, it includes Hill Hall—a Brutalist monument designed by Robert L. Geddes. From the beginning, its now-closed external stairwell invited speculation and mystification, since it was, and in some ways still is, an alien structure in downtown Newark.

Now, 50 years later, the tower is sitting there as a layered, inaccessible enigma that Daniel Neumann will activate sonically from inside. He will use the tower as a large vertical filter, playing sounds into it, and picking up the acoustic responses with various microphones at different heights and placements. Then the tower’s aural responses will be mapped in real time to the horizontal structure of the building’s internal concrete ramps—another pro-minent structural feature of Hill Hall. The multi-channel installation-performance on the ramps explores questions such as: Will verticality become audible? How does sound double as a physical and imaginative phenomenon? Is the rocket finally taking off? Does listening function as productive action towards the sonorous? And, which floor are we on?

Daniel Neumann’s performance at Hill Hall is programmed and sponsored by Newark Rhythms, a three-year public history project featuring sound art, visual art, spatial research, and commemoration at RU-N. Combining performances, exhibitions and community outreach, Newark Rhythms takes its inspiration from urban geographer Henri Lefebvre’s term Rhythmana-lysis to explore how a space becomes a “place” imbued with social meaning.

Along with Daniel Neumann, the Sonic-Spatial Series includes Tyshawn Sorey, Andrew Demirjian, Seth Cluett, HPrizm, and Jeff Snyder/PLOrk.

Daniel Neumann is a Brooklyn-based sound artist, organizer and audio engineer originally from Germany. A main focus throughout these different occupations is how sound interacts with space and how spatial perception can be shaped by sound.

Schedule
1:30-2:00pm - Meet at Fridman Gallery 169 Bowery, New York, NY / Ph: (917) 262-0612
2:00pm - Bus/Van at Fridman Gallery departs for Newark ($15 charge)
2:30-3:00pm - Sound Installation in Hill Hall
3:00-4:30pm - Introduction and Performance by Daniel Neumann
4:30-6:00pm - Artist Talk Q&A and Light Refreshments
6:00pm - Bus/Van departs back to Fridman Gallery

Open & Free to the Newark Public
$15 Tickets available for Chartered Transportation from NYC. (Meeting at 1:30 PM Fridman Gallery, 169 Bowery, New York, NY)