Ash 1991
Clay pots with light brown ash inside, and moving and sometimes jumping dark sounds (some are quiet but these are difficult to understand).
Description
Julius recorded ordinary sounds, such as birds, radiators, and crickets, and patched them together into a collage of sound. This “music” plays from speakers inside flower pots. They are covered with an orange ash (from German coal-burning fireplaces) that seems to be dancing. It is as though the ash is making the sound “visible.” It moves differently with every sound.
Rolf Julius was born in Germany in 1939 and studied fine art in Bremen. In the mid 1970s he began using sound alongside his visual practice. Later he moved to Berlin and became an important figure in that city’s budding sound art scene. In 1980 Julius’ pioneering work “Dike Line” was presented at the “Fϋr Augen Und Ohren” exhibition alongside work by John Cage. He has created some of the most meaningful and moving works in the grey area between music and art, between sound and silence, slowly emerging as one of the most important and influential sound artists of our time. Whether using photographs, ink drawings, audio compositions, or subtle and sometimes almost hidden outdoor installations, Rolf Julius’ works serve as catalyst, increasing our awareness of the great beauty of the world that surrounds us.