Photo by Joey Wharton courtesy Dave Watkins
One of the current waves in performance art is sound art, a medium that explores various forms of sound, including acoustics, electronics mixing, soundscapes and environmental sound. Sound Arts Richmond, a collective of artist musicians, uses the aural rather than visual canvases of Richmond’s public spaces, including Pump House Park, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden and Cathedral of the Sacred Heart.
The weekly installments of Sound Arts join a long line of public art and community programs in Richmond, including the RVA Street Art Festival, InLight, Find Art Doors and Urban Light Works. “This exhibition is designed to celebrate the arts and artists in our area and to bring partners together to build community, while using art as a catalyst to explore our city in a new way,” says Vaughn Garland, a sound artist and the organizer of Sound Arts.
Dave Watkins, a multimedia artist who experiments with interactive art, will be performing two events and a sound installation at The Valentine this month. The installation, “It’s Birds,” will run June 7-21. It uses birdhouses, which Watkins built and fitted with speakers that project synthesized sounds and processed stringed instruments to create a meditative auditory experience.
“A big part of this public installation is that it calls attention to the art form, and that unlike exhibits in a traditional art gallery, everybody can enjoy this art because it’s accessible to anyone walking down the street,” Watkins says. “[It’s] also a lighthearted sonic jab at the squawking bird sounds being amplified at the nearby John Marshall Courts Building.”
Watkins will also perform "Electro-Acoustic Lunch," a two-hour improv-based set starting at noon on June 12 with dulcitar and electronics in the museum's garden. On June 21 at 6 p.m., he will perform a concert as part of The Valentine's Music in the Garden series, using semi-improvised music on dulcitars, as well as instruments he has been designing and building.
“The concert will be more song-based, less improv, louder, and more melodic in structure,” Watkins says.
Multimedia artist Dave Watkins performs at The Valentine on June 12 at noon, and June 21 at 6 p.m. Free. 1015 E. Clay Street. 804-649-0711 or thevalentine.org.