K.I. professor pays 9/11 tribute with aural art

Alex Carrigan
Contributing Writer

As part of James Branch Cabell library’s memorial to the events of Sept. 11, 2001, VCU kinetic imaging professor Stephen Vitiello contributed a commemorative piece from his catalogue of sound.

Recorded 12 years ago on the 91st floor of the first World Trade Center tower, Vitiello set microphones up to capture the sounds of the passing Hurricane Floyd.

“The windows were very thick and great measures had been taken to make the spaces ‘silent,’” Vitello said. “I felt like that disconnect kept you from really experiencing the building and your own presence in it.”

Vitiello said that no two experiences of listening through his microphones are the same.

“Some days all I heard was wind, and it could sound like an orchestra was tuning up. At other times, I heard traffic, planes, boats …”

The exhibit is located in room 152 of Cabell library on the Monroe Park campus. The group study room had been transformed into a listening experience, as all outside noise is removed, giving listeners the feeling of being in Vitiello’s office on the 91st floor of the World Trade Center. The television displays an image from the office, taken by Johnna MacArthur.

The recordings have been featured in the Whitney Musuem of American Art and will be featured at MoMA PS1 as part of an exhibit on Sept. 11. Their appearance in Cabell library will remain installed until Sept. 23.

“I hope (visitors) listen carefully and can experience some of what I experienced – this strong sense of sound as a physical force … the way that sound can alter our perception of space,” Vitiello said. “When you came into my studio on the 91st and looked out the window, it didn’t feel real until I brought the sound up on the mics. Once you could hear, you could feel in a very different way.” CT

The exhibit is located in room 152 of James Branch Cabell library and will last until Sept. 23.

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