Un· Tuning Together. Practicing listening with Pauline Oliveros
This group exhibition is inspired by a unique concept of listening that the American experimental composer Pauline Oliveros (1932-2016) refers to as Deep Listening, which, in her words, “involves going beneath the surface of what is heard.” At the heart of this practice is an acute awareness of the fact that there is always more to hear “beneath the surface” of the audible, in the recesses of the acoustic environment.
The Deep Listening experience is open to new forms of sensoriality and represents a commitment to continue developing our listening skills through scores that, rather than guiding the interpretation of music, suggest attentional strategies and ways of listening to ourselves, others and the environment. In Oliveros’ work, the practice of attention is most often conducted in a collective setting. In most of her compositions, she provides open-ended indications that must be negotiated collectively by the performers, involving a great deal of attention and receptivity to others and to what is happening.
The exhibition “Un· Tuning Together” brings Pauline Oliveros’ practice face to face with those of artists whose research reflects and expands on her proposals. Each artist is invited to inhabit the entire space and to share with participating audiences practices that bring into play the principles of improvisation and mutual listening within a group. Their proposals will alternate in a programme of collective work and public performances. Oliveros’ work will also be practised collectively through regular sessions dedicated to the experience of Sonic Meditations. Her work has become a kind of catalyst for thinking collectively – with artists, researchers, participating audiences and the Bétonsalon team – about how bodies involved in these listening practices can generate changes on both personal and social levels.