Barry Whittaker: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena

August 05 - August 12,2024

From ICOSA Collective: "ICOSA Collective is proud to present Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, 28 minute audio recording created by Barry Whittaker.   Humans have a history of hurling objects into space. Rockets, satellites, animals, humans, plants, and insects have all graced the skies above the earth. Beyond the occasional launch event where objects are lobbed into the air, signals are constantly beamed into space. Messages, images, and sounds are spread across the electromagnetic spectrum, radiating outward to infinity. A gold-plated record and a Tesla with David Bowie’s “A Space Oddity” also float through the void, waiting for an audience. Who, or what, will be first to listen to our noises, and what will they hear?  This project imagines the interstellar journey of the sonic time capsules carried by objects and waves as they float across the vastness of space.   Barry Whittaker is a multi-media artist, designer, musician, and Professor of Art at the University of Toledo. He teaches graphic and interactive design and is a member of the Art in Public Places Committee of the Toledo Arts Commission.   As an artist, Whittaker explores mythology, language, miscommunication, cultural hybridization, and play through a variety of technology- and collaboration-based projects. In addition to museum and gallery exhibitions across the world, he has created numerous works for outdoor LED screens in Denver, Colorado, has curated a Great Lakes Region component of the 2019 Supernova festival for display on a large outdoor screen in Toledo, Ohio, and has organized an annual exhibition of his students’ artwork on digital billboards throughout Toledo since 2012. Whittaker has ongoing collaborations with Sam Sheffield, full-time faculty of Game Design at the Maryland Institute College of Art, creating interactive installations and games under the name “SaBa,” 2D images and installations with Michael Bernhardt, Associate Professor of Art at Metropolitan State University of Denver, under the name “Barchael,” and performances and multi-media installations with independent artist Donald Fodness and Michael Bernhardt under the name “The DMB Collective.”   Whittaker has taught in the U.S., France, China, and Japan, and his work has been exhibited extensively across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Selected exhibitions include: FILE FESTIVAL 2022 at the Galeria de Arte do Sesi in São Paulo, Brazil; ArtFarming a collaborative project with the Aichi Triennale in Nagoya, Japan; Hors Pistes Japon, organized by the Centre Pompidou and presented in Tokyo, Japan; Throwing Things at the Sky, which opened at 3331 Arts Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan; #TAGGING ART#, an exhibition and print project through Vision Magazine, Shanghai, China; Supernova Digital Animation Festival, Denver, Colorado; STROBE Network, at FLUX Factory, Long Island City, NY; and Playpublik at FORUM, Krakow, Poland.   A native Texan, Barry Whittaker received a BFA from the University of Texas at Austin and an MFA from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He divides his time between his home in Toledo, Ohio, and Nara, Japan.   Website:  http://barrywhittaker.com   Credits: Barry Whittaker — field recordings, synthesizers, electric guitar, bass guitar, drum machines, percussion, text Yuka Ueda — voice Public domain recordings sampled: Laughing Song (Especialidad de Risas) (Especialidade de Risos) – Henry Klausen My South Polar Expedition – Spoken by: Lt. Ernest H. Shackleton I am the Edison Phonograph – Spoken by: Thomas A. Edison The Serenade – Herbert, Victor Nasa Apollo 11 Recordings Produced April 2022 while in residence at WORM/Klangendum Studio. About: The Soundscape Project consists of sound works played via an outdoor stereo system in the breezeway at the Canopy Complex (916 Springdale Road), from sundown to sunset each day. Each month ICOSA will feature a new sound artist, culled from local, national, and international artist submissions. Each monthly featured artist’s work will be played on a loop and will be accessible to the public free of charge. The Soundscape Project provides sound artists a unique and specific platform for their work, dedicated to the act of listening. For more information and to apply please follow this LINK"

Reception: August 09, 2024 | 8-10 pm

ICOSA Collective 916 Springdale Rd, Bldg 2, #10
Austin, Texas 78702
Get Directions