"Delicate Abrasions"
a site specific sound installation
June 6 - July 12, 2003
Opening Reception: Friday, June 6, 5-7pm

In this 12-channel site-specific sound installation titled "Delicate Abrasions," Albuquerque sound artist/composer Steve Peters intimately explores the surfaces and materials of Shack Obscura. The result is a composition of haunting sonic presence within the space - a hushed chorus of gentle thuds, scrapes, scratches, pings, and rubbings that inhabit the expanse of what we recognize to be existing between noise and music.

All sounds in this work are derived from tactile explorations of the existing metal, wood, glass, and concrete found in the building's interior. Many of these treated sounds bear an unforeseen resemblance to sounds that exist in the natural world: those of crickets, birds, thunder, and rustling branches, while others have a more "instrumental" quality. It is the sound of a rough-edged vernacular structure succumbing to the patina of time.

The complete history of the Shack is unknown, yet traces of its history lie hidden within the rust and grit and splinters, an architectural narrative waiting to be given and received. These walls do indeed talk, yet their language is paradoxically both mysterious and familiar. Consider Peter's work an attempt at translation.

Steve Peters creates music and sound for dance, theater, film, radio, museums, galleries, public places, and concert settings. Much of his work incorporates environmental sound and uses amplified natural/found objects as instruments. Emphasizing sound to forge a personal connection with Place, he creates contemplative spaces that encourage calculated listening.

His land-based sound installation "Here-ings: a sonic geohistory" was exhibited last year at the Museum of Fine Arts in Santa Fe, NM, and at 516 Magnifico Artspace in Albuquerque, NM, and is now installed permanently at THE LAND - an art site, near Mountainair, NM (book/CD available from La Alameda Press.) "The Alchemy of Desire," a collaborative installation with artist Christine Wallers originally created for the Old San Ysidro Church in Corrales, NM was recently exhibited at the Nicolaysen Museum in Casper, WY. He also composed the soundtrack for "Agnes Martin: With My Back to the World," a new documentary by Mary Lance.