Outdoor sound installation in the Aldrich's Sculpture Garden Now Until January 3, 2021
In the spirit of listening to music together during the holidays, and a safe way to experience art, nature, and music in harmony, we hope this installation will bring joy to the community
- Emily Devoe, Director of Marketing and Communications
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum is pleased to present Scores for the Stars, 2020-21, a two-part series by artist Ander Mikalson commissioned by The Aldrich and dedicated to Frank Stella’s Stars. The first part, Scores for the Stars, Part I, is a two-channel sound installation on view in the Museum’s Sculpture Garden from December 21, 2020 to January 3, 2021. Signage with QR codes to access Mikalson’s score while viewing Stella’s sculptures will be placed in the Sculpture Garden. Visitors are encouraged to explore the outdoor works by Stella and experience Mikalson’s installation together in real time.
Scores for the Stars, Part I celebrates the winter solstice (December 21, 2020), a time when our largest star, the sun, is lowest in the sky. The scores for the winter solstice are excerpted from eponymous summertime tunes like Summertime by Gershwin and Walking on Sunshine by Katrina & The Waves. The winter solstice score is performed by musician Karina Garrett. The performer plays to the Stars with deep feeling, seeking to communicate with them. The sounds seem to emanate from the Stars as if they are singing to each other. Signs with QR codes will be installed in the Museum’s Sculpture Garden by two of Stella’s outdoor sculptures, Jasper’s Split Star and Frank’s Wooden Star.
Stars with songs about winter. We play songs of the opposite season in a gesture of longing, of collapsing and layering time, of
acknowledging cycles, of grappling with the impossibility of time across distance. When we look at the stars we see light that burned
billions of years ago; we literally look into the past. The universe is balanced. Contained within each thing is the possibility of its
opposite. In this particularly dark winter of isolation, playing songs of summer is also a gesture of hope.”
Scores for the Stars, Part II will occur as a live performance at The Aldrich on the summer solstice (June 20, 2021), when the sun is
highest in sky. The scores performed on the summer solstice will be about winter. More information about this performance
forthcoming.
Mikalson’s Scores for the Stars was created in response to the exhibition Frank Stella’s Stars, A Survey. It was organized by Education
Director Namulen Bayarsaihan and Senior Curator Amy Smith-Stewart. Frank Stella’s Stars, A Survey is on view inside the Museum
through May 9, 2021; the outdoor work installed throughout the Museum’s grounds is on view through September 7, 2021.
Ander Mikalson (b. 1983) is a New York-based artist working in performance, sound, sculpture, and drawing.