Volume 32 Number 9
Sounds and Wonders
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“Jericho,” from The Edison Effect, by Paul DeMarinis, produces music at once familiar and distant, like some faintly remembered melody running through the head. |
Imagine a child who spends his days tinkering with batteries and wires,
shouting words into the piano to hear their odd “music,” and
falls asleep listening to the eerie electronic noises from his short-wave
radio, convinced that they are the music and language of faraway lands.
Bay Area artist Paul DeMarinis, son of a scientist, ultimately returned
to his childhood fascination with “the feeling of music in language.”
Since 1971, DeMarinis has worked as a multimedia electronic artist, creating
sound and computer installations, interactive electronic inventions, and
performance works. His work has been shown internationally, as well as
in San Francisco at the Exploratorium and the San Francisco Museum of
Modern Art.
The University Art Gallery presents Mediated Wonders, a sound installation
by DeMarinis, which features work from three of his projects. “Jericho,”
pictured above, is a piece from The Edison Effect, in which antique phonograph
records, wax cylinders, and holograms are scanned with lasers to produce
music.
The exhibition runs Jan. 31 through Feb. 19, in conjunction with Activating the Medium, a sound festival, Feb. 17, 7:30 pm at Wismer Theatre. A special closing reception will be held Monday, Feb. 18, from 5 to 7 pm. See Exhibitions for gallery hours.
Lisa Kirk
University Publications
California State University, Chico
400 West First Street
Chico, CA 95929-0040
530-898-4263
publications@csuchico.edu