Out of Thin Air
Public Art
Out of Thin Air
Out of Thin Air was a sound installation by Brooklyn-based artist Sari Carel, inviting to reflect on the intimacy and enormity of breathing. As the culmination of a series of breathing and sound-recording workshops held with New Yorkers living with asthma and various breathing conditions, Carel built a multi-channel soundscape in City Hall Park out of unconventional respiratory sounds; visitors were led blindfolded through the installation to better perceive the nuances of breath. Additional public programming focused on environmental injustice and access to clean air and holistic wellness in New York City.
On View
May 31—July 8, 2018
The installation played for 16 minutes with a 10 minute break, 10am to sunset every day
Location
City Hall Park, Manhattan, NY.
Sari Carel introduces the personal and conceptual origins of Out of Thin Air
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About the artist
Out of Thin Air, was a sound installation by the Brooklyn-based artist Sari Carel inviting New Yorkers to think about breathing in all its intimacy and enormity. Visitors experienced an immersive soundscape—expanding to and informing the environment, creating a rich sensory journey up to City Hall, while addressing important issues relating to air quality and wellness.
The multi-channel soundscape was the culmination of a series of breathing and sound-recording workshops the artist held with New Yorkers living with asthma and various breathing conditions. During these free workshops, participants were introduced to the Alexander Technique and Jessica Wolf’s Art of Breathing by master teacher Jessica Wolf, who is also a Professor in the Practice of Acting at Yale University. Central to Wolf’s work is the idea that the respiratory system is the balance wheel of the body. She guided attendees through principles and procedures that involve respiratory re-education to promote greater physical and emotional wellbeing.
Workshops were hosted by recording engineer Kerry Pompeo of Concord Music, who partnered with More Art and Carel because of her interest in expanding the capabilities of sound recording. An engineer for more than a decade, Pompeo worked with Carel to navigate the technical aspects of capturing something as elusive as breath. The final recording is a rather unusual composition drawn from such sounds as rustles, crackles, beats, huffs, and delicate inhaling and exhaling.
“In audio recordings, sound engineers always try to edit out the sound of breathing. For this audio work, I’m taking everything else out” —Sari Carel
“Sari Carel is an artist known for her avid interest in documenting extinct sounds. While she is not proposing that our breathing—and thus, our lives—is on the verge of extinction, in this work she does raise harrowing questions about respiratory illness, air quality, environmental injustice, and who indeed has access to clean air and holistic wellness in New York City” —Micaela Martegani, executive director and chief curator, More Art.
Sari Carel
Based in Brooklyn, New York, much of multi-media artist Sari Carel's work focuses on translation from one modality to another. Her projects consider interspecies communication, relationships between people and place, and how the senses inform our perception. Also an environmental activist, Sari is a sharp observer of ecosystems, be they natural or human.
Carel’s work has been exhibited and screened internationally in venues such as Artists Space, Dumbo Arts Festival, Nicelle Beauchene Gallery, and Gavin Brown’s Enterprise in New York; LAX Art and Young Projects in Los Angeles; Genia Schreiber University Gallery in Tel Aviv, and Haifa Museum of Art in Israel and Locust Projects in Miami. She has been awarded numerous fellowships and residencies, including AIR at the Stundars Museum, Finland; AIR Vienna; the Socrates Sculpture Park Artist Fellowship and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Residency on Governors Island, New York; and the Bundanon Residency, in Australia.
Recent exhibitions include The Coyote After-School Program at Melanie Flood Projects, Portland, OR and The Shape Of Play, a public art project in Boston’s North End, commissioned by JARTS and curated and produced by Now & There.
Out of Thin Air, 2018. Official Video.
Sari Carel, Out of Thin Air, 2018. Participants experiencing a guided sense-tuning tour of the immersive sound installation.
Sari Carel, Out of Thin Air, 2018. Participants experiencing a guided sense-tuning tour of the immersive sound installation.
Excerpt of audio from the sound installation Out Of Thin Air by Sari Carel.
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Press
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Public Programs
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Partners & Supporters
Jessica Wolf has been teaching the Alexander Technique for 40 years. She is the founder of Jessica Wolf’s Art of Breathing, and created the first three-dimensional animation of the respiratory system. Wolf teaches performers, teachers, and healthcare providers around the world. Kerry Pompeo is chief engineer at Concord Music NYC, working in studio, live sound, and broadcast media production for over 14 years. She describes her approach as being “the liaison between artist and machine.” Her work consists of recording, mixing, and creating production masters for label artists, as well as collaborating with independent artists who seek her out for her creative studio techniques.
“Carel’s installation calls out the reality of breathing difficulties—which are often overlooked as a critical health issue—with a sincere desire to improve what is unwell….a listener cannot help but be moved by the breaths Carel has gathered, and stirred by the reaction they garner from passersby. The listener is able to feel almost tangibly this anonymous person’s struggle simply to draw air into his or her lungs. Carel’s project not only asks the audience to consider breath as that most basic unit of life, but also what power it has for change when united for shared goals.” — Jessica Holmes
Why This NYC Park Is Filled With the Sound of Loud Breathing Observer
New York Today: Our Collective Breath The New York Times
8 Outdoor Art Installations in New York to Get Excited About The New York Times
A Guide to the Craziest New Outdoor Art in NYC New York Post
Public Art Opening Reception: Out of Thin Air by Sari Carel Round NYC
How Health and the Environment Impact Art Hyperallergic
This Audio Installation Lets You Hear a City Breathe Fast Company
Taking a Deep Breath with Sari Carel Zingmagazine
40 NYC Outdoor Art Installations Not to Miss in June 2018 Untapped Cities
The Out of Thin Air Art Installation Shows How Important Air is Trend Hunter
Hearing Is Seeing in Art Piece Featuring Ear-Opening Breath Sounds The Tribeca Trib
All programs take place at City Hall Park unless otherwise indicated.
City Hall Park is wheelchair accessible | Directions
Opening Reception, May 31, 6PM
6:00-7:00pm | Guided Sound Walks for guests
Experience a guided sense-tuning tour of the immersive sound installation. Visit Out of Thin Air and enjoy a blindfolded guided walk through the soundscape led by one of our docents. Receive a free, limited edition, More Art eye mask while supplies last. All ages welcome. Guardian supervision required.
7:30pm | Opening Remarks
Join us for opening remarks by the artist Sari Carel, More Art Director Micaela Martegani, and a representative from NYC Parks’ Art in the Parks Program. Listen and learn more about upcoming free public programs throughout June 2018.
On-Site Programs
Out of Thin Air: Guided Sound Walks
Thursdays, June 7, June 21, and July 5 | 6:00-8:00pm
Experience a guided sense-tuning tour of the immersive sound installation. Visit Out of Thin Air and enjoy a guided walk through the soundscape led by one of our docents. Receive a free, limited edition, More Art eye mask while supplies last. All ages welcome. Guardian supervision required.
Youth Programs
Mindful Breathing and Sound Walk for Teens
Thursday, June 14 | 4:00pm
Perfect after school de-stressing and mindfulness workshop for teens!
On June 14th, teens (ages 13-17) are invited to ‘take a break and breathe’ amidst the soundscape of Out of Thin Air at City Hall Park. The session will introduce simple breath-awareness techniques for mental grounding, focused listening, and environmental mindfulness. Using these mindful breathing meditations as a guide, the group will decode & discuss the sound installation, and discuss the relevance of mindful breathing for health and well being of our city.
Each participant will experience an “eyes-closed” listening tour of the immersive sound installation. Participants will be provided with a free workshop guide materials in order to continue the practice of mindful breathing at home.
RSVP: info@moreart.org by June 13th.
Out of Thin Air: Family Days
Saturdays, June 9 and June 16 | 1:00-3:00pm
Just like the air we breathe, sound can fill the space around us with something we can feel, but not see. Families with young children (ages 5-9) are invited to join More Art teaching artists on June 9th and June 16th for a public art discovery session at Out of Thin Air in City Hall Park. From 1:00pm-2:00pm, mindfulness-based breathing activities, site-exploration prompts and listening games will help us tune-in to the sensations of breathing in our surroundings.
Structured sessions begin every half-hour to accommodate drop-ins. Every child must be accompanied by an adult or guardian above the age of 12.
Off-Site Programs
Rehtinking Illness Symposium: Art, Health and The Environment
Friday, June 29 | 3:00pm-7:00pm
Hosted by CUE Art Foundation, this multi-part gathering will bring artists, academics, public health advocates, and environmental activists into an intimate dialogue with the audience through presentations, short workshops, actions, and discussions which traverse the social, medical, historical, political, aesthetic, and embodied dimensions of time and illness as they relate to how access to wellness is impacted by policy and built environment.
Art Walk: Art & Environmental Justice in the South Bronx
Saturday, June 30 | 11:00am-2:00pm
Meeting location: BronxArtSpace | Directions
The tour begins at BronxArtSpace for curator-led tour of the current exhibit, In Broad Daylight: Women Street Artists from Greece. Guest will learn about the cultural space and its community programs that serve the neighborhood and city at large. The next portion of the tour will involve learning more about decades of environmental activism and current waterfront redevelopment plan led by the community with support from partnering organizations New York Restoration Project and South Bronx Unite.
Resident members of South Bronx Unite, a local environmental justice organization, will lead a waterfront walking tour of landmark sites throughout the Mott Haven-Port Morris neighborhood of the South Bronx as well as sites along the Mott Haven-Port Morris Waterfront Plan, a community-designed blueprint for alternatives to decades of policies that have perpetuated air quality degradation and unjust land use. This dynamic tour will provide a window into the craftsmanship of the 1800’s, the oversaturation of industrial facilities causing alarmingly high asthma rates and the myriad signs of resiliency. The tour will highlight local community gardens and local organizing campaigns for climate resiliency and against subsidies to diesel trucking companies.
RSVP: info@moreart.org by June 28th.
public programs.
All programs take place at City Hall Park unless otherwise indicated.
City Hall Park is wheelchair accessible | Directions
Opening Reception, May 31, 6PM
6:00-7:00pm | Guided Sound Walks for guests
Experience a guided sense-tuning tour of the immersive sound installation. Visit Out of Thin Air and enjoy a blindfolded guided walk through the soundscape led by one of our docents. Receive a free, limited edition, More Art eye mask while supplies last. All ages welcome. Guardian supervision required.
7:30pm | Opening Remarks
Join us for opening remarks by the artist Sari Carel, More Art Director Micaela Martegani, and a representative from NYC Parks’ Art in the Parks Program. Listen and learn more about upcoming free public programs throughout June 2018.
On-Site Programs
Out of Thin Air: Guided Sound Walks
Thursdays, June 7, June 21, and July 5 | 6:00-8:00pm
Experience a guided sense-tuning tour of the immersive sound installation. Visit Out of Thin Air and enjoy a guided walk through the soundscape led by one of our docents. Receive a free, limited edition, More Art eye mask while supplies last. All ages welcome. Guardian supervision required.
Youth Programs
Mindful Breathing and Sound Walk for Teens
Thursday, June 14 | 4:00pm
Perfect after school de-stressing and mindfulness workshop for teens!
On June 14th, teens (ages 13-17) are invited to ‘take a break and breathe’ amidst the soundscape of Out of Thin Air at City Hall Park. The session will introduce simple breath-awareness techniques for mental grounding, focused listening, and environmental mindfulness. Using these mindful breathing meditations as a guide, the group will decode & discuss the sound installation, and discuss the relevance of mindful breathing for health and well being of our city.
Each participant will experience an “eyes-closed” listening tour of the immersive sound installation. Participants will be provided with a free workshop guide materials in order to continue the practice of mindful breathing at home.
RSVP: info@moreart.org by June 13th.
Out of Thin Air: Family Days
Saturdays, June 9 and June 16 | 1:00-3:00pm
Just like the air we breathe, sound can fill the space around us with something we can feel, but not see. Families with young children (ages 5-9) are invited to join More Art teaching artists on June 9th and June 16th for a public art discovery session at Out of Thin Air in City Hall Park. From 1:00pm-2:00pm, mindfulness-based breathing activities, site-exploration prompts and listening games will help us tune-in to the sensations of breathing in our surroundings.
Structured sessions begin every half-hour to accommodate drop-ins. Every child must be accompanied by an adult or guardian above the age of 12.
Off-Site Programs
Rehtinking Illness Symposium: Art, Health and The Environment
Friday, June 29 | 3:00pm-7:00pm
Hosted by CUE Art Foundation, this multi-part gathering will bring artists, academics, public health advocates, and environmental activists into an intimate dialogue with the audience through presentations, short workshops, actions, and discussions which traverse the social, medical, historical, political, aesthetic, and embodied dimensions of time and illness as they relate to how access to wellness is impacted by policy and built environment.
Art Walk: Art & Environmental Justice in the South Bronx
Saturday, June 30 | 11:00am-2:00pm
Meeting location: BronxArtSpace | Directions
The tour begins at BronxArtSpace for curator-led tour of the current exhibit, In Broad Daylight: Women Street Artists from Greece. Guest will learn about the cultural space and its community programs that serve the neighborhood and city at large. The next portion of the tour will involve learning more about decades of environmental activism and current waterfront redevelopment plan led by the community with support from partnering organizations New York Restoration Project and South Bronx Unite.
Resident members of South Bronx Unite, a local environmental justice organization, will lead a waterfront walking tour of landmark sites throughout the Mott Haven-Port Morris neighborhood of the South Bronx as well as sites along the Mott Haven-Port Morris Waterfront Plan, a community-designed blueprint for alternatives to decades of policies that have perpetuated air quality degradation and unjust land use. This dynamic tour will provide a window into the craftsmanship of the 1800’s, the oversaturation of industrial facilities causing alarmingly high asthma rates and the myriad signs of resiliency. The tour will highlight local community gardens and local organizing campaigns for climate resiliency and against subsidies to diesel trucking companies.
RSVP: info@moreart.org by June 28th.
workshops.
The art and wellness workshops for Out of Thin Air are co-led by Carel and Jessica Wolf, an expert in the Alexander Breathing Technique and Professor in the Practice of Acting at the Yale School of Drama. The digital stethoscope incorporated into the sessions was produced by ThinkLabs.
Kerry Pompeo in the recording studio
Detail from the coordinated breathing workshop
Detail from the coordinated breathing workshop
This project is supported in part by Artis, Lambent Foundation, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s Process Space Program, EILEEN FISHER, the Manhattan Community Award Program awarded by Manhattan Borough President’s Office, and New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Partnering agencies and organizations include NYC Parks, NYC Department of Health’s Center for Health Equity, Coalition for Asthma Free Homes/WEACT, South Bronx United, New York Restoration Project, Marron Institute for Air Quality at New York University and ThinkLabs, a Denver, Colorado based biotechnology company. Sound capture and consulting for sound installation by Kerry Pompeo of Concord Music. Additional consultation by Dr. Thomas B. Talbot, Principle Medical Expert for USC Creative Technologies.
For over 50 years, NYC Parks’ Art in the Parks program has brought contemporary public artworks to the city’s parks, making New York City one of the world’s largest open-air galleries. The agency has consistently fostered the creation and installation of temporary public art in parks throughout the five boroughs. Since 1967, NYC Parks has collaborated with arts organizations and artists to produce over 2,000 public artworks by 1,300 notable and emerging artists in over 200 parks. For more information about the program visit www.nyc.gov/parks/art.
More Art has partnered with grassroots environmental justice organizations throughout NYC, to share community-led research and planning to improve air quality in the region. To view the plans, check out the slider above. To share a report or plan with us, email kate@moreart.org
Partners
Supporters
