Interior Field

Civilian Art Projects [Washington, DC] June 22 – July 28, 2012
Opening Reception: Friday, June 22, 7-9pm

Civilian Art Projects presents Richard Chartier, Interior Field, a multi-channel sound work created from field recordings of a variety of small and large spaces from around the world.

Through his compositional practice, Chartier utilizes the unique physicalities of these environments to create a newly defined acoustic space. According to the artist, “Interior Field is a 65- minute transposition of location, focus, and experience itself.” To this end, Chartier transforms the center gallery at Civilian Art Projects into a darkened space where the visitor may relax and focus on the sound composition. A significant portion of this new piece utilizes several binaural audio recordings from the unique 1905 McMillan Sand Filtration Site in Washington, DC during a sudden heavy rainstorm.

For the exhibition, two limited edition, archival prints titled “s is for… (1)” “s is for… (2)” by the artist will be available. The prints depict two unique spaces whose audio recording appear as elements in the sound work. The first images are of a bright blue sky crescented by the rusted metal, circular surface view inside a Richard Serra sculpture. The second image is from a similar perspective inside the McMillan Sand Filtration site in rainy darkness and was created for this exhibit.

Richard Chartier’s monochromatic aesthetic has come to define an audio culture surrounding minimalism. His craftsmanship, working predominately with sounds that exist at the edges of perception is a powerful, albeit subtle statement about notions of space and sound density Interior Field is a continuation of Chartier’s exploration of field recordings first released as “Fields for Recording” on 2010’s A Field for Mixing (Room40, Australia). A stereo version of Interior Field will be published as a limited edition by the Japanese sound art label mAtter.

Special thanks to: Yann Novak + France Jobin for technical assistance and inspiration, John Salatti + Hugh Youngblood for coordinating special access to McMillan for recording sessions.

In the small, darkened room between the two other galleries, D.C. “microsound” artist Richard Chartier offers a subjective tour that’s entirely aural. “Interior Field” was recorded largely (although not exclusively) in the McMillan Reservoir’s sand-filtration facility during a rainstorm. The humming, whooshing, dripping, 65-minute composition is, Chartier writes, “a transposition of location, focus, and experience itself.” Apprehending such a piece is tricky, because most people are used to music that’s more organized, assertive and sweetened. But “Interior Field” can be refreshing, and even intoxicating. Looking through someone else’s eyes has almost becomes routine; listening through someone else’s ears is still unexpected.
(Washington Post)