Roadrunner Ocarina Whistle, Mexico, Colima, Colima, 200 BCE–500 CE

Mouth Piece (for a collection of objects), 2020

Raven Chacon
United States, b. 1977
Mouth Piece (for a collection of objects), 2020
Sound installation Courtesy of the artist, commissioned by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

 

For this commission, Chacon composed a group of songs from sounds and pitches of pre-Columbian whistles and ocarinas from LACMA’s collection (on display in this gallery). Mouth Piece is performed by Alethia Lozano, principal flutist for the National Symphony Orchestra in Mexico. Presented as “beams of directionalised sound,” as Chacon says, the songs tell stories of other non-sounding objects throughout the exhibition, and invite listeners to align their own voices with the cumulative activity in the gallery.

Audio Available
Listen to artust Raven Chacon discuss this installation in depth.

 

 

Roadrunner Ocarina Whistle, Mexico, Colima, Colima, 200 BCE–500 CE, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Proctor Stafford Collection, purchased with funds provided by Mr. and Mrs. Allan C. Balch, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA