The Music of Trees

If you’re in Seattle this October, you may want to check out artist Abby Aresty’s new installation “Paths II: The Music of Trees”. According to Abby’s statement on the project website, the installation is “a series of sound installations that explore the layers and permutations of acoustic space in seven sites throughout Seattle’s Washington Park Arboretum. Each installation creates a sonic dialogue with its acoustic and physical space. The striking forms of the trees and plants, as well as their relationship to the surrounding environments, provide a unique opportunity for the artistic and physical exploration of sound in space.” The project is not intended to displace the sounds of birds, wind, and other ambient music but to weave these ever-changing sounds into the space of her compositions.

Abby’s installation was completed as part of her dissertation project at the University of Washington. So she is not only bridging the old divide between nature and culture but the one between scholarship and creativity as well. In a recent interview with NPR Abby, discusses the project further and listeners can get a sense of what this is like to experience in person. Sensing some ties between her work and Cathy Fitzgerald’s, I’ll be contacting Abby in hopes that she may post some additional insights on this website.