Venice Biennale 2024
Saturn Walk: Embodied Listening helps us heal. In this time of world-wide crises we need to take time to heal ourselves by walking and learning to listen.
This performance was presented in conjunction with the Venice Biennale
At: (Re)Create, Venice, Italy, April 16, 18-19th.
Dancers: Andrea Nann of Dreamwalker Dance Co, Laura Colomban and Jennifer Dahl
Collaborators: Seth S. Horowitz, PhD and Lance T. Massey Composer Curated by Elga Wimmer
Saturn Walk: Embodying Listening is a novel performance piece that is based on soundwalking, mindful meditation and a labyrinth shaped inspired by Saturn’s hexagonal cloud form over her North Pole. By echoing the energy and spirit of culture as filtered through a Feng Shui focus on sound, the artist connects people with this programmed and public participation performance. The programmed component is an improvisational dance and music work that is staged with guest artists moving to “Saturn Walk” a composition inspired by the sonics of Saturn’s rings that China Blue discovered for NASA.
To strengthen connectivity, the public is invited to participate. In pacing the sound walk people are immersed in the acoustics generated from Saturn’s rings and experience embodied listening. As participants become attuned to their world they will discover that both their ability to listen to others and their mental health is improved and by extension that of the community.
Saturn Walk: Embodying Listening is a practice which proposes mindful embodied listening. It attunes us to the world and improves our sense of wholeness. Nonjudgmental active listening is an activity that helps to build a sense of trust and belonging. It shows people that they are being heard and understood. In this era of increased social division, advancing solutions to improve mental wellbeing is important for the betterment of individuals and our communities.
The discovery of the sounds in Saturn’s rings
The sounds of Saturn’s rings were discovered for NASA by China Blue and Dr. Seth Horowitz. The album “Cassini’s Dreams” was created from the view point of the space craft Cassini whose mission was to research Saturn. This audio was the bases of the CD, Cassini’s Dreams created with Lance Massey. To listen to the work go to: https://www.amazon.com/Cassinis-Dreams-feat-Massey-Horowitz/dp/B07B8B89HL
About China Blue
China Blue is a New York based, internationally exhibiting and award winning, sound-based visual artist. Her work that explores connectivity is driven by the fundamental principle that sound is energy made physical.
She is known for her discoveries of the sounds in Saturn’s rings for NASA and the voice of the Eiffel Tower. Over the past two plus decades she has researched NASA’s Vertical Gun’s acoustics whose projectiles shoot at Mach-15, the sonics of an asteroid impact on Mars and the songs produced by our brains. She uses these sonic events to connect with others through her installations, environments, paintings and soundwalks.
She has been an Adviser to Rhode Island Congressman Langevin’s Committee for Art & Culture and the Rhode Island State’s Art and Health Committee as well as the Founder and Executive Director of The Engine Institute. Currently she is the Director of China Blue Art. For an extensive biography go to this link.
Accolades
About Cassini’s Dreams at the 2019 Venice Biennale Art Critic Lilly Wei says:
Cassini’s Dreams…is a remarkable visual arts and sound project that is partly scientific and partly poetic.
Art Historian Stephanie Jeanjean states: as China Blue demonstrates…nothing is still nor silent, the void is filled with the sounds of in-commensurable invisible forces that can be heard by those who listen to them.
Mat Kaplan of The Planetary Society says: The songs are both “beautiful and evocative.