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933 Van Ness Avenue Fresno, CA 93721 | 559.441.1444 T 559.441.8607 F |
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March 23 - April 14, 2006
   Off-Site: Ed Osborn - Ground Creeper VariationsFulton Mall
People stroll over linear pavement patterns, along planters, water pools, and loudspeakers; they walk past trees, shrubs, and flowers, and sit among benches. The physical and social space of the Fulton Mall walkway in Downtown Fresno, designed by landscape architect Garrett Eckbo and the planning firm Victor Gruen and Associates in the early 1960s, presents a rich fabric for site-specific art projects. As part of the Fresno Metropolitan Museum's Off-Site series, sound artist Ed Osborn transformed the architectural space of the Fulton Mall walkway into four sound compositions, which were broadcast over the loudspeakers located throughout the mall. Osborn based the underlying structure of the compositions on a set of architectural plans created for the original design of the Fulton Mall. Using a computer program, which transforms visual structures, shapes and lines into electronic sound, Osborn read the plans like a musical score. The linear pavement patterns, for example, translated into elongated and steady tones, whereas the clusters of planters unfolded as a series of pulsating sounds. Osborn built the four sound variations upon the same structural framework, but selected different parts of the walkway for each composition; he ordered them into specific sequences, chose the various overlay of data, and altered elements such as pace, pitch, and pulse, thus creating four distinctive sound interpretations. In addition, Osborn invited artists Frank Delgado and Kenneth Froelich from Fresno, and Tara Rodgers from Oakland to each create a remix of his work. The resulting compositions explored the richness of various individual responses to Osborn's conceptual strategies and sound work. Ground Creeper Variations - the title of the sound compositions - plays off the name of a vine called the Trumpet Creeper, one of the plants originally intended for the walkway. The vine creeping along a surface implies the careful scanning and reading of the ground patterns. It also refers to the flowing pattern of pavement lines, water pools, and movement of people through the walkway. Osborn's sound pieces and the remixes were broadcast over 39 speakers located throughout the six blocks of Fulton Mall expanding from Tuolumne to Inyo Street. Ground Creeper Variations not only derived its composition from the physical space of the walkway, but also created and becomes part of its spatial environment. Pedestrians walking through Fulton Mall had the opportunity to experience the sounds of Ground Creeper Variations inhabiting its physical space. 3/23/06: Ground Creeper Variation #1 10min [9.2mb mp3 file] excerpt Full Versions3/23/06: Ground Creeper Variation #1 31.44min [29mb mp3 file] Ed Osborn has exhibited and performed internationally, most recently at the Klanggalerie, Berlin, Germany; Interaccess, Toronto, Canada; Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia; and Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, CA. His sounding artworks take the form of installations, sculptures, radio broadcastings, videos, performances, and public projects. Osborn received his MFA from Mills College, Oakland, and is presently Assistant Professor of Media Art at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The Fresno Metropolitan Museum would like to thank the City of Fresno's Department of Parks and Recreation for their help in realizing the project. Off-Site is organized by Susanneh Bieber, Curator of Art at the Fresno Metropolitan Museum, and supported by a grant from The James Irvine Foundation and The Bonner Family Foundation. Exhibition Type: » |
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