The Artistic Sound Installations at Millennium Park

Millennium Park's new sound installation has caused a lot of attraction, featuring the work of 6 different types of sound artists there is sure to be a piece that sticks out to each person. So Yesterday as we dived right into our first week of orientation we were taken to check it out and think outside the box about what could be considered a learning space, a place in which providing an education to students with the most efficiency would be convenient. 

photograph by AAG, millennium park, 2021

  When we got there I was able to hear to pieces of the installation, Kioto Aoki's  Sonorous Admitting and Natalie Chami's Along Dusk . Being able to sit on the grass and fully absorb my surroundings as these pieces played in the background, each at their assigned times, was definitely a wondrous feeling.  As the first piece played, Sonorous Admitting, I felt the tense and thrilling sounds of taiko drums being played at a constant rate as I took in my surroundings. It gave the feeling of tension before a big event, perfect sound for a thriller movie. It was my first time ever hearing the sound taiko drums so this left quite the impression on me, the intense sounds of the drums sparked a curiosity to learn more about this strong instrument and about the artist who made them come to life. First I researched the Taiko drums, the instrument chosen by the artist, and I came to learn that Taiko is actually used to refer to any variety of japanese drums and they were influenced heavily by chinese and korean culture flooding into japan in the 6th century. 

photograph by Ken Carl, Japanese American Service Committee 

Now that I knew a bit about the instrument used to create this piece I had to learn about the hands which brought these sounds out of the Taiko. As I did my research I quickly came to realize that Kioto Aoki was almost like a mysterious figure who let her work speak for her, specifically her photography, some lacking color by choice is assumed, but spoke of the situations they were taken in. 

source: Oakton community college

photograph by: Kioto Aoki, Breathe Fibers of Past 

As I went through her personal blog, through all the photographs, films, music, books, and installations she has made I learned that she comes from a heritage of musicians from the Tayoakimoto which has roots all the way back into ancient japan.