Sound Thoughts on Art
Arts & Culture Podcasts
The arts can engage all our senses, but it’s in the crossover between them that things really get interesting. When we listen to music, what do we see in our mind’s eye? When we look at a work of art, what do we hear? Sound Thoughts on Art, a new podcast from the National Gallery of Art, explores the intersection of sight and sound.
Find full transcripts and more information about this series at https://www.nga.gov/music-programs/podcasts.html.
Location:
United States
Genres:
Arts & Culture Podcasts
Description:
The arts can engage all our senses, but it’s in the crossover between them that things really get interesting. When we listen to music, what do we see in our mind’s eye? When we look at a work of art, what do we hear? Sound Thoughts on Art, a new podcast from the National Gallery of Art, explores the intersection of sight and sound. Find full transcripts and more information about this series at https://www.nga.gov/music-programs/podcasts.html.
Twitter:
@ngadc
Language:
English
Contact:
(202) 737-4215
Email:
mediaproductions@nga.gov
Episodes
Christian McBride and Roy DeCarava’s “David”
6/6/2021
In an improvised musical conversation, jazz bassist Christian McBride introduces himself to David. Connecting over McBride’s walking bass line, they meet David’s friends, splash by the fire hydrant, play stickball. Through David, McBride recalls his own childlike innocence. Find full transcripts and more information about this episode at https://www.nga.gov/music-programs/podcasts/christian-mcbride-roy-decarava-david.html.
Duration:00:22:11
Nathalie Joachim and Carrie Mae Weems’s "May Flowers"
5/16/2021
Composer Nathalie Joachim sees her childhood memories in May Flowers. The photograph also evokes the uniquely spiritual experience of recording a church choir in her family’s Haitian village. Joachim has lovingly woven their song into her composition. Find full transcripts and more information about this episode at https://www.nga.gov/music-programs/podcasts/nathalie-joachim-carrie-mae-weems-may-flowers.html.
Duration:00:32:26
Rafiq Bhatia and James Turrell’s "New Light"
5/2/2021
Musician Rafiq Bhatia feels compelled to capture his improvisations—fleeting moments of sound—in recordings. Like sound, light is transient. But James Turrell’s works, which inspired Bhatia’s composition, contain and present light, allowing us to forge a deeper relationship with an ephemeral substance. Find full transcripts and more information about this episode at https://www.nga.gov/music-programs/podcasts/rafiq-bhatia-james-turrell-new-light.html.
Duration:00:27:07
Vijay Iyer and I.M. Pei’s "National Gallery of Art, East Building"
4/18/2021
Composer-pianist Vijay Iyer describes the East Building as a work of art that does what music does: invites you in—to inhabit, explore, and be among others. He responds with pieces that balance pattern and structure with leaving room to wander.
Find full transcripts and more information about this episode at
Find full transcripts and more information about this episode at https://www.nga.gov/music-programs/podcasts/vijay-iyer-im-pei-east-building.html.
Duration:00:32:17
Emily Wells and David Wojnarowicz’s "Untitled (Falling Buffalos)"
4/4/2021
Composer/producer Emily Wells sees us as the buffalo: frozen before downfall, but still alive—which is why she includes so much breath in her song. Wells, whose work deals with the climate crisis, looks to David Wojnarowicz’s AIDS activism for lessons.
Find full transcripts and more information about this episode at https://www.nga.gov/music-programs/podcasts/emily-wells-david-wojnarowicz.html.
Duration:00:24:10
Kamala Sankaram and Mark Rothko’s "Untitled"
3/21/2021
When her sister was dying, composer Kamala Sankaram was drawn to Mark Rothko’s painting: it both captured her grief and calmed her. That experience influenced Sankaram’s approach to creating a musical score, which she shares in this episode.
Find full transcripts and more information about this episode at https://www.nga.gov/music-programs/podcasts/kamala-sankaram-mark-rothko.html.
Duration:00:24:18
Jasiri X and Kerry James Marshall’s "Untitled (Man)"
3/7/2021
Hip-hop artist Jasiri X looks at Kerry James Marshall’s woodcut almost like he’s looking into a mirror. It captures the experience of a Black man: resilient but restrained from being his authentic self. Jasiri responds to the work through two songs that reflect on his internal struggle.
Find full transcripts and more information about this episode at https://www.nga.gov/music-programs/podcasts/jasiri-x-untitled-man.html.
Duration:00:27:45
Bora Yoon and "Ommah"
2/21/2021
Composer and multi-instrumentalist Bora Yoon considers whether we carry the sounds and memories of our people within us. In her response to Nam June Paik’s video sculpture, she brings together both traditional Korean instruments and eclectic electronic music.
Find full transcripts and more information about this episode at https://www.nga.gov/music-programs/podcasts/bora-yoon-and-ommah.html.
Duration:00:25:05
Daniel Bernard Roumain and "American Gothic"
2/21/2021
Composer Daniel Bernard Roumain works with performance poet Lady Caress to respond to this iconic photograph with a combination of music and poetry. In the ebb and flow of his composition, DBR hopes to capture pain, legacy, enduring hope—and the rhythm of the subject’s life.
Find full transcripts and more information about this episode at https://www.nga.gov/music-programs/podcasts/daniel-bernard-roumain-american-gothic.html.
Duration:00:23:20
Lara Downes and "Tomorrow I May Be Far Away"
2/21/2021
For classical pianist and activist Lara Downes, Romare Bearden’s collage is a puzzle full of questions and unfinished business. In response, she brings together different musical sources, overlaying sounds to create both harmony and tension.
Find full transcripts and more information about this episode at https://www.nga.gov/music-programs/podcasts/lara-downes-and-tomorrow-i-may-be-far-away.html.
Duration:00:25:32
"Sound Thoughts on Art" trailer
2/3/2021
Hosted by musician and journalist Celeste Headlee, each episode focuses on a work of art in the National Gallery’s collection. Learn about the work and its context and hear a musician respond to that work through sound, creating a dialogue between visual art and music. Sound Thoughts on Art tells the stories of how we experience art and how it connects us.
Find full transcripts and more information about this episode at https://www.nga.gov/music-programs/podcasts.html.
Duration:00:01:17