Home > Past Exhibitions > 1991 > Rolf Julius

Ash, 1991 Terra cotta flower pots, speakers, ash, recorded sound 1414 Monterey, 1st floor Julius recorded ordinary sounds, such as birds, radiators, and crickets, and patched them together into a collage of sound.  This "music" plays from speakers inside the flower pots. They are covered with an orange ash (from German coal-burning fireplaces) that seems to be dancing. It is as though the ash is making the sound "visible." It moves differently with every sound. Artist's Statement Clay pots with light brown ash inside, and moving and soetimes jumping dark sounds (some are quiet but these are difficult to understand). Listen to a sample of the work here. Rolf Julius Born 1939, Wilhelmshaven, Germany; died 2011, Berlin, Germany