Monday, February 09, 2009

pot banger from an early age

Our perception of space depends as much on what we hear as on what we see.--Max Neuhaus

Neuhaus died last Tuesday at 69. He was the creator of site-specific works of sound sculpture. On the "audio and video recordings" page of his web site, you can click on a link and watch a wonderful eight-minute video about his famous piece, Times Square, which is installed under a street grate where Broadway and 7th Avenue converge. Seems to passersby like a steeam hatch, but as you walk over it you hear a deeply resonant and wavery body-piercing drone.

Here's a little bit of Neuhaus on Ubuweb.

The Times obit, facing its apparent responsibility to say something about Neuhaus' childhood, quotes his sister thus: "He was a pot banger from an early age."