STEPHEN VITIELLO, A BELL FOR EVERY MINUTE

June 23, 2010 - June 20, 2011
14th Street Passage

Artist Stephen Vitiello will present a multi-channel sound installation entitled A Bell For Every Minute for which he has recorded bells all over New York City and beyond. Sounds range from the iconic rings of the New York Stock Exchange bell, the historic Dreamland bell (recorded days after it was discovered in the water off Coney Island), the United Nation's Peace Bell, and more everyday and personal sounds of bike bells, diner bells, and neighborhood church bells. During park hours an individual bell will ring each minute from speakers placed throughout the tunnel space where it will be installed, the overtones fading out as the next bell begins. A chorus of the selected bells will play at the top of each hour, filling the space. The sounds will be represented on a physical sound map that identifies the location of each bell, allowing the listener to follow the geographic journey of the recordings. Collectively, the bells are a microcosm of the urban landscape as they relate to the sounds captured throughout the daily life in New York City. The site becomes activated by the composition, inviting the passerby to engage with the High Line and its connection to the city around it.

Vitiello's installation is located in the 14th Street Passage, between West 13th Street and West 14th Street, and debuted in June 2010.

About the Artist

Stephen Vitiello lives and works in Richmond, Virginia, where he is Associate Professor of Kinetic Imaging at Virginia Commonwealth University. Recent solo exhibitions include Museum 52, London; The Project, NY; and Smallest of Wings at the Broadgate Arena, London. Group exhibitions include the Contemporary Art Museum, Houston, TX; the 2006 Bienale of Sydney; and the 2002 Whitney Biennial. As a Media Curator, he curated the Sound Art component to the Whitney Museum's exhibition The American Century: Art and Culture 1950-2000; Young and Restless, a video program for the Museum of Modern Art and New York; and New Sounds, New Spaces at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Lyon. In addition to multiple solo musical releases, he has composed music for numerous film scores and dance productions. Over the last 20 years he has collaborated with such visual artists as Nam June Paik, Tony Oursler, Julie Mehretu and Eder Santos.

Support

This installation is presented in partnership with Creative Time, and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, and is made possible by a generous grant from The Rockefeller Foundation's New York City Cultural Innovation Fund. Additional funding has been provided by Vital Projects Fund, Inc., and in-kind support by JBL by Harman.

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