Director’s Tour – The Truth of the Night Sky: Anne Patterson and Patrick Harlin
Monday, April 29 | 1 pm
Satin ribbon, steel cable. Courtesy of the artist.
Steel piano wire, resin and gold leaf, dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julia Khoroshilov.
Steel piano wire, resin and gold leaf, dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julia Khoroshilov.
Courtesy of the artist.
Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Daniel Perales.
Metallic powder and acrylic on paper, 48 x 48 in. Courtesy of the artist.
Piano wire, steel, and resin, 55 x 27 x 25 in. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Jane Huntington.
Piano wire and steel, 53 x 23 x 29 in. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Jane Huntington.
Piano wire and steel, 53 x 23 x 29 in. Courtesy of the artist.
Satin ribbon, steel cable, 55 x 41 x 28 ft. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Adam Auel.
Photograph taken from Apollo 8. Courtesy of Bill Anders/NASA.
Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Audrey Kelley.
The Truth of the Night Sky:
Anne Patterson and Patrick Harlin
April 21 - September 29, 2024
Multimedia artist Anne Patterson and composer Patrick Harlin, explorer of soundscape ecologies, collaborate to create an awe-inspiring immersive installation for Sarasota Art Museum. Patterson, a synesthete who sees color and shape when hearing music, has frequently collaborated with musicians, including Harlin, to design mesmerizing environments. Patterson and Harlin met at the Hermitage Artist Retreat in 2014 and recognized in each other a similar artistic affinity for drawing inspiration from nature.
For this collaborative project, they are expanding upon Harlin’s original composition Earthrise (2022), an orchestral piece inspired by the eponymous photograph of the earth taken from Apollo 8 by William Anders, in 1968. This iconic photograph not only shifted humanity’s perspective, but also encapsulated the environmental movement’s call to care for the earth, provoking a kind of “collective epiphany.” Harlin’s composition will be the processional that plays as visitors pass through the galleries, so that the ambiance evokes a lunar voyage.
This immersive installation will engage the senses: visitors will plunge into color-filled light or enveloping darkness, and move in rhythm with exalting music or in ambient sound. With each step, visitors will travel imaginatively through space and time. In addition to a suspended tree, a centerpiece symbolic of hope and resilience found in nature, Patterson’s installation will include several different series, such as Stars Spinning Through Spring (2018-2024), The Truth of the Night Sky (2018-2019), and We Are All Stardust (2019-2024). The exhibition will also feature Patterson’s signature installation work, with satin ribbons suspended from the ceiling, which will be accompanied by Harlin’s ambient sound and abstract video images. A cohesive environment unifies Patterson’s abstract sculptural pieces and paintings exploring recurring themes of multiplicity and variation.
Harlin and Patterson aim to transform the collective space, whether by unraveling its limits into falling ribbons or evoking transcendence through their art and music. The Truth of the Night Sky will convey the sense of collective awe and wonderment we may feel under the dome of the stars or in the vibrating air of a concert hall, and it will show how art may inspire hope.
The Truth of the Night Sky: Anne Patterson and Patrick Harlin is organized by Sarasota Art Museum in collaboration with the Hermitage Artist Retreat, and curated by Rangsook Yoon, Ph.D., senior curator, Sarasota Art Museum.
This exhibition is made possible, in part, with generous support from:
Platinum Sponsor
Shari and John Hicks
Silver Sponsor
Anonymous
Sondra and Gerald Biller
Carole Crosby and Larry Wickless
Dean Eisner
Marge and Leon Ellin
Judy and Fred Fiala
Keith Monda and Veronica Brady
John and Charlotte Suhler
Janis and Hobart Swan
