VCU news

By Tom Gresham and Kimberly Selden

Listen to an excerpt from “The Smallest of Wings” [mp3]

Stephen Vitiello, a Virginia Commonwealth University professor and sound artist, had the rare opportunity this summer to share his work with approximately 500,000 people.

Vitiello, an assistant professor in the Department of Kinetic Imaging of the VCU School of the Arts, presented "The Smallest of Wings"at London's Broadgate Arena, a bustling outdoor space adjacent to Liverpool Street Station. The sound installation ran around the clock from June 4 through June 8.

"The Smallest of Wings" juxtaposed the beating of moth wings recorded in upstate New York with the buzzing sound of hummingbirds' wings from the Amazon to create an immersive environmental experience. Vitiello and engineers from Arup Acoustics designed an open, dome-like configuration over an inviting grass circle for the installation. Eighteen loudspeakers were attached to the configuration with four, very large subwoofers on the ground.

The show was the latest installment in a series of presentations called "Cities in Transition," an effort launched in 2005 by United Technologies Corp. to commission new art work by contemporary artists.

Vitiello said that being commissioned for the installation was an honor, and that the project's robust budget allowed him to work on "a scale I've never worked on before."

Vitiello spent a great deal of time at the site, observing visitors' responses to the sounds.  He said attendees proved to be a diverse group, from office workers taking breaks, to mothers with their children in tow. Even a line of ducks wandered over, apparently attracted by the lifelike quality of the recorded sound, he said.

Perhaps most poignant, Vitiello said, was the story of one man who had left Brazil for England at the age of 10. He came to the installation, recognizing sounds he had missed from his youth. The next day, Vitiello said, the man returned with his entire family.

"It's a scenario that I never would have imagined, but it's a beautiful one," he said. 

Vitiello said he sees this kind of reaction frequently with his art, which specifically addresses the sculptural quality of sound. His pieces seem to produce wildly varying interpretations from listeners.

"I'm fine with however anyone wants to enjoy it," Vitiello said.

Vitiello, who has played in various bands and served as an assistant to the famous video artist Nam June Paik, never intended to be a sound artist but embraces the unexpected nature of the work.

His recordings include the grand, such as the sounds he recorded on the 91st floor of Tower One of the World Trade Center in New York during a 1999 artist residency, to the mundane, day-to-day noises that daily go unnoticed.

"There is beauty and content in what's under our feet and over our heads," he said.

Vitiello's work has been exhibited at such prestigious venues as the Whitney Biennial, the Sydney Biennial, the Tate Modern in London and the San Francisco Electronic Music Festival. Solo exhibitions of his work have been held in New York, Paris and London, among other locations. Vitiello has a preliminary agreement to install "The Smallest of Wings" for a four-week run in New York starting in late August.

"Sound art is emerging into museums and galleries all over," said Vitiello. "The field has grown exponentially in the last 10 years, but it's still something you often have to explain to people."