Events

Exhibition: Glass Heart

Exhibition: Glass Heart (bells for Sylvia Plath)

Jenny Olivia Johnson, Assistant Professor of Music Composition and Theory, debuts a Davis Museum commission, Glass Heart (bells for Sylvia Plath). Johnson's work is linked to synaesthetic experiences, in which certain sounds evoke particular colors in the mind. Inspired both by Sol LeWitt's 1991 series of etchings, All Combinations of Red, Yellow, and Blue, with Scribbles, and the poetry of Sylvia Plath, Johnson has created an interactive musical instrument that will share the gallery space with LeWitt's prints. The instrument consists of seven glass bell jars fitted with microphones and lights. A touch triggers a sound sample of a new composition written by Johnson and featuring Plath's poetry, and causes the lights of the glass hearts to dance to the sound. Johnson's work, a daring foray into the potential of intersecting emotional undertones among distinct pieces of literature, music, and visual art, is linked to synesthetic experiences, in which certain sounds evoke particular colors in the mind. The exhibition is curated by Elaine Mehalakes, Kemper Curator of Academic Programs.

Glass Heart (bells for Sylvia Plath) is supported by The Mary Tebbetts Wolfe '54 Program Fund.