DESCRIPTION:
L'Objet Sonore, 18 Jan - 21 Feb 2003
Eyedrum Art and Music Gallery, Atlanta
featuring Marshall Avett, Catherine Bechard, Xavier Charles, Xan Deeb, Will Eccleston, Sabin Hudon, Kevin Jacques, John Mallia, Chantelle Minarcine, Douglas Repetto, and Charlie Smith
curated by Adam Overton
video by Will Eccleston
design, catalog by Matthew Jeanes

Acknowledgements: Funding for L'Objet Sonore is provided by the Cultural Service of the French Embassy, the College of Arts and Sciences at Georgia State University, the Council of Arts and Letters of Quebec, and the Columbia University Computer Music Center.

Special Thanks: Cathy Byrd, Craig Dongoski, Robert Thompson and Eyedrum

More Info: http://plus1plus1plus.org/LObjetSonore
Catalog: http://plus1plus1plus.org/wiki/uploads/LObjetSonore/lobjet%20sonore-catalog-final.pdf

L'Objet Sonore—18 Jan-21 Feb 2003—was a sound sculpture exhibition at the Eyedrum art and music gallery in Atlanta, curated by Adam Overton, and held in conjunction with the Pulse Field sound art exhibition running simultaneously at Georgia State University. Exhibiting artists included Marshall Avett, Catherine Bechard, Xavier Charles, Xan Deeb, Will Eccleston, Sabin Hudon, Kevin Jacques, John Mallia, Chantelle Minarcine, Douglas Repetto, and Charlie Smith. L'Objet Sonore featured a catalog, logo, and design by Matthew Jeanes, plus a documentary video by Will Eccleston.


Curator's Statement: L'Objet Sonore - Sound Object
Adam Overton, curator Eyedrum, Atlanta, Georgia

The artists of L'Objet Sonore hearken to the principle that vibrations are the primary essence of physical existence, that vibrating particles shape the sensory experience of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. We filter our experience through organs that deal with zones of vibrational activity, the sum of which defines our perception. Strangely, such holism runs contrary to the division of the senses historically practiced in the arts, and today we find many artists and audiences feeling incomplete in such an exclusive and fragmented system. This exhibition includes work by artists who consider it paramount to create vibrations with a synthesis of sight and sound, whose art finds resonance through melding the senses rather than separating them.

The artworld's historical segregation of the senses has led its traditional venue, the art gallery, to neglect the vibrational origins of the visual and the aural. The reluctance of artists and galleries to explore the world beyond the visual has led to a typically one-sided artistic experience. L'Objet Sonore, however, is indicative of a steadily growing trend among contemporary artists to overcome the inertia of the historically sight-driven gallery show by expanding their palettes to address the artistic possibilities of aural sensation. Here at Eyedrum Art & Music Gallery, we meet in a venue that, like a handful of others, is rising to the challenge of these artists. Eyedrum's motto references both the name and the philosophy of the space, as well as the primary thrust of this exhibition: ...where the EYEball and the earDRUM meet.

L'Objet Sonore presents a collection of Sound Objects, sculptural and installation work that is defined equally by shape and sound. The diverse aesthetic practices of participating national and international artists invite viewers to reconsider any divisive sensory allegiances that they might once have harbored. A holistic experience of art, L'Objet Sonore proves that this genre of multi-dimensional work can resonate not only within a space like Eyedrum, but within the viewer as well, offering the opportunity for a more complete connection to the artists and their vision.