September 18–December 31, 2011 9-5pm:
Index Filicum borrows its name from two exhaustive catalogs of fern species published by botanists Thomas Moore (in 1857) and Carl Christensen (in 1905). The Lincoln Park Conservatory was constructed between 1890 and 1895. All of these coincide with the Victorian era's so-called pteridomania, a term coined in 1855 by the British priest, scholar, and writer Charles Kingsley to describe the craze at the time for all things fern-related. I suspect that this odd pop-cultural obsession may explain the dedication of such a large portion of the conservatory to this extensive collection of pteridophytes, plants characterized by their reproduction via spores rather than flowers or seeds.
The work is derived from an inventory list of all of the species currently housed in the conservatory's Fern Room. The Latin names of the species are sung by four vocalists; the common names are whispered quietly in the background. The melodic lines for each name were improvised by the vocalists, based on drones derived from a field recording made in the space. I am attracted to Latin in part because it seems to be made for singing, but especially because of its shared use as both a sacred language and the language of science.
Thanks to Jeremiah Cawley, Amy Denio, Katherine Hanson, and Maria Mannisto for their lovely voices; to Adam Vida and Alex Inglizian for assistance with the field recording; to Steven Meyer at the Department of Conservatories, Chicago Parks District for providing the text; and to Lou Mallozzi at Experimental Sound Studio for the opportunity to make this project.
Curated by Lou Mallozzi for Experimental Sound Studio's Florasonic series, presented in partnership with the Chicago Park District.
Fern Room, Lincoln Park Conservatory 2391 N. Stockton Drive.
September 18 - December 31, 2011
Exhibition hours: daily 9:00AM-5:00PM
FREE ADMISSION
Steve Peters makes music and sound for a wide range of contexts and occasions using field recordings, found/natural objects, electronics, various musical instruments, and spoken text. Since the late 1990s his main focus has been on site-specific listening environments, alone or in collaboration with visual artists. He performs occasionally as a member of the Seattle Phonographers Union, and also works as a freelance producer, writer, and curator. Since 1989 he has been the Director of Nonsequitur, a non-profit organization presenting experimental music and sound art, currently via the Wayward Music Series in Seattle. His work has been released on such labels as Cold Blue, Palace of Lights, SIRR, and Dragon's Eye. He recently completed a three-week Binaural artist residency in Nodar, Portugal.
About Florasonic
Florasonic is a unique program that commissions composers and artists to make new site-specific music and audio art installations for the Fern Room of the Lincoln Park Conservatory, a turn-of-the-century greenhouse. Curated by ESS Executive Director Lou Mallozzi, Florasonic presents each project for three to five months, visited by an estimated 500 to 1,000 people each day.
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