ʻōʻō The Day After Tomorrow, 2016
Four channel sound installation
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This four channel sound installation features the song of the Kauai ʻōʻō bird (Moho braccatus). It is a male singing to his mate that will never come, because he is the last of his species. The Kauai ʻōʻō is now extinct. Bringing together species, as well as the present and the past, composer Tim Holt has created music in dialogue with this song. This piece also includes the sounds of a Maori man mimicking a Huia bird (Heteralocha acutirostris), native to New Zealand. The Huia is now extinct and there exists no other recording than that of this man imitating it’s song. Lastly ʻōʻō The Day After Tomorrow features a recording of a Wood Thrush (Catharus mustelinus), a bird in sharp decline still found in many parts of Northern and Central America. One must lean in to the pillars to hear the sounds of these birds or Tim’s music. One has to listen in to these ghosts of the past and sentinels for the future.
Channel 1: The Kauai ʻōʻō (extinct 1987), 01:24min. loop.
Channel 2: Music composed by Tim Holt, 2016, 01:40min. loop.
Channel 3: Henare Hamana mimicking a Huia (extinct 1963), 01:33min. loop.
Channel 4: Wood Trush (in sharp decline) 09:00min. loop.
Special thanks to the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Video by Tim Holt
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Double Digits: Lawndale’s Artist Studio Program, 10 Years and Counting
Grace R. Cavnar, John M. O’Quinn, and Cecily E. Horton Gallery
November 11 – December 22, 2016
Opening Reception
Friday, November 11, 2016
6 PM Artist Talks
6:30 PM – 8:30 PM Opening Reception
Lawndale Art Center, Houston, TX.