For this first iteration of Replenish, Jules Gimbrone invites participants to consider when does noise become a signal?
Both as a measurement in audio production (i.e. signal-to-noise ratio), and in a variety of cross-disciplinary analytics, determining what is considered “noise” versus what is considered “signal” is fundamental to assessing the values and beliefs of that system.
In Inside/Outside Oscillations, Gimbrone renders noise/signal as both epistemological and acoustic phenomena, and connects this to the transgender experience. In this current cultural political moment, signal-to-noise is not just a descriptive metaphor. As we see unceasing legislative attacks on transgender bodies, labeling transness as a type of aberration, monstrosity, or stain to be reduced or removed is often a first line of attack in escalating state-sanctioned violence.
Gimbrone composes amidst and between inside/outside, noise/signal, reader/listener, self/other. Invested in relationships and resonances rather than demarcations that solidify control, Gimbrone invites a blurred synesthetic participation.
This project asks participants to read an accompanying text while listening to the audio.
About The Artist
Jules Gimbrone is a visual artist and composer invested in reflecting how an illegible and contested subjectivity listens, discerns, and responds. The work synthesizes physical and sonic material, sensory perception, the physical body, electronics, and objects.
Gimbrone works in a third space to produce synesthetic, hybrid content through a rubric he defines called “Trans-Sensing”. Trans-Sensing Modalities are methods that trans people—specifically those who identify as transgender, but also people whose subjectivity is unmoored or unrecognizable to the dominant culture—intuitively cultivate to navigate the world. Trans-Sensing is attuning oneself to this synesthetic phenomenology of resonance which leads to a more systemic, less object-oriented engagement both socially and artistically.
Gimbrone’s work has appeared internationally in a variety of institutional venues including museums such as Hammer Museum, Walker Art Center, SculptureCenter, MOMA PS1, The Rubin Museum, Socrates Sculpture Park; in galleries such as Bortolami, Klaus von Nichtssagend, Stellar Projects, Park View Gallery, Vox Populi, Bodega Gallery, Helena Anrather, City Limits Gallery, and Melanie Flood Projects; interdisciplinary spaces such as Pioneer Works, MonkeyTown, Judson Church, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Human Resources LA, LAXART Los Angeles; music venues such as REDCAT, ISSUE Project Room, and Spectrum; and theaters such as the Théâtre de l’Usine. In 2019 Gimbrone was awarded the Rema Hort Mann prize and was included in In Practice at SculptureCenter. He has been an artist-in-residence at Lower Cavity in Holyoke, MA (2021) and at Civitella Ranieri in Umbria, Italy (2023).
Our remote summer series, Replenish will present five artist-designed sound experiences that encourage listeners to take a break and take a breath. Replenish is organized by Emily A. Garner, Senior Manager, Campus and Public Programs, MIT List Visual Arts Center. Artist creating the series' prompts include: Jules Gimbrone, Victoria Shen, Darrin Martin, Lia Chavez, and Naama Tsabar.
Practicing mindfulness allows us to experience art and experience the world slowly and without distraction. As many move swiftly back to the speed of life post-pandemic, more and more artistic practices are calling in these ideas around mindfulness. With a diverse compilation of sound experiences, each artist offers a unique take on what it means to replenish oneself, emphasizing the importance of self-care.
A new iteration of Replenish will be released on the List Center website every other Wednesday, from July 12 to September 6, 2023. Participants are invited to engage with the programs asynchronously throughout the season. Visit the program page to learn more about the series.
