placeling, 2021
108” x 84” x 84”
mixed hardwoods, poplar, beeswax, gouache, stone, rubber, felt, silicone, wax paper, ink, acrylic, spackling compound, waxed cord

phosphenes ii/a-d, 2021 
duration ad libitum
electronics
________________

"Given that we are never without perception, the existence of this dialectic means that we are never without emplaced experiences. It signifies as well that we are not only in places but of them. Human beings—along with other entities on earth—are ineluctably place-bound. More even than earthlings, we are placelings, and our very perceptual apparatus, our sensing body, reflects the kinds of places we inhabit." — E. Casey

"The experience of auditory stimuli is a function of the nervous system. We are culturally conditioned to interpret sounds, and recognize them, which is why we are roused to anxiety by an experience we can neither interpret nor dismiss as ‘noise’. The very fact that [sounds at the extremes of our hearing range] can be ‘felt’ but not heard creates a frustrated perceptual impulse. Anxiety can only be resolved by attaching it to an object or cause. In the absence of either, we tend to create one, and in most instances we create a supernatural or preternatural one." — B.G. Nichols
 
"Many animals in La Selva live in [an] acousmatic world, in which the rule is not to see their conspecifics, predators or preys, but just to hear them. This acousmatic feature is best exemplified by one of the most characteristic and widespread sounds in La Selva: the strikingly loud and harsh song of the cicadas. One can perceive it with an astonishing intensity and proximity; many times you hear the cicada in front of your face. Yet, like a persistent paradox, you never see it." — F. López

A phosphene is the phenomenon of seeing light without light actually entering the eye.
________________

Presented at The Lantern, Lenfest Center for the Arts, New York, Jun 12–26, 2021, curated by Regine Basha, and at Fridman Gallery, New York, Aug 27-29, 2021, curated by Lauren Rosati.

All images: Jonathan Harris, except [4], Anthony Sertel Dean with Jonathan Harris

Phosphenes documented in situ, The Lantern, Lenfest Center for the Arts, New York.
Recorded on Neumann KU 100, Sound Devices MixPre-10, by Jonathan Harris with Seth Cluett 
Mastered at Columbia University Computer Music Center by Jonathan Harris

With enormous thanks to Ethan, Rebekah, Miya, Seth, Daniel, Marina, Keli, Douglas, Keith, Lauren, Gascia, Richard, Shelley, Annea, Nina, Julian, Toni, John, Jon, Linnéa, Hilary, Jacq, Regine, Gary, James, Matthew, Jon, Julia, Peter, Rider, Eric, Liz, Uri, Michael, Erv, Sarah, Louise, and of course Crystal.
________________

jonathan harris
https://vimeo.com/570338584
https://lostlanguag.es
🌑🦗

phosphenes, 2021 [documented in situ]

unprocessed location recording and three intermittent sine tones
percussion, grace goss
eight channels, duration ad infinitum

image:
study for untitled (viscera), 2021
74” x 43” x 47”
milled birch, cotton, beeswax

https://lostlanguag.es

study for membrane, 2021 [documented in situ]

for 5 melodicas and 3 double basses.

for score & inquiries, please contact jonathan@lostlanguag.es.

image: primavera, sandro botticelli, ~1474 [detail]

https://lostlanguag.es

canon melodica, 2017 [reference demo]

for alto saxophone quartet

(samples: marcus weiss; for reference/non-commercial use only)

for score & inquiries, please contact jonathan@lostlanguag.es.

https://lostlanguag.es

m. cassinii, 2019 [reference demo]

for 17 percussionists

percussion: will heintz iii, jonathan harris

for score & inquiries, please contact jonathan@lostlanguag.es.

https://lostlanguag.es

deconstructed wave ii, 2018 [reference demo]

white noise (blind brook iv), 2018
8” x 288” x 24”
6-channel sound, portable radios
duration ad infinitum

presented in the alcove at the neuberger museum of art, 2018

https://lostlanguag.es

white noise (blind brook iv), 2018 [documented in situ]

from breathing room, 2022
five works of varying dimensions
mixed media

presented at half gallery, ny, jul–aug 2022 as part of otherwise, curated by carlota ortiz monasterio, ho won kim & victoria horrocks

https://lostlanguag.es

portrait (bell buoy 38, rye beach, ny), 2022 [excerpt]

membrane, 2022
location recording and intermittent sine tone
percussion, grace goss
duration ad libitum

from
untitled (viscera), 2022
168” x 208” x 112” (variable)
birch, flax, linen, cyanoacrylate, methylcellulose, sound

https://lostlanguag.es

membrane, from untitled (viscera), 2022 [documented in situ]

untitled (277/480), 2017
electronics, cork, stone, sound
duration ad libitum

presented as part of we get lucky, july 2017
chashama (vanderbilt)
curated by monika zarzeczna

https://lostlanguag.es

untitled (277/480), 2017 [reconstructed in situ documentation]

13 moons (for julia), 2024
duration, 300 minutes
sound, electronics

presented by trops foundation, ny, mar 20, 2024
as part of norooz, curated by nora tofigh.

having had effectively no time to prepare this installation before the presentation date (less than a week between the invitation and the gig!), i'd first put together a 40-minute set of compositions, then switched gears and at the eleventh hour decided instead to assemble a collage of oscillators and elements of recent work (viscera, breathing room, etc.) with which i freely improvised in the guise of an evolving installation, presented next to a plastic palm and in front of stephen torton's sunlike fresco in the back room of manero's where the event was held. a primary element of the sound palette was sunpath, my large installation which i would be dismantling the following week. i compressed that 365-day-long composition into five hours, so that it traced the period from 3/20/23 (the previous spring equinox) to 3/20/24 (norooz, the date and occasion of the presentation for trops foundation) over the duration of the event. i'd dedicated the work that night to julia jalowiec; she passed just a few days later.

with absurd levels of gratitude to nick & nemo for bringing it together (and to fulano for the gear 🏄‍♂️)

recording, production, engineering, programming, composition, and sound design: jonathan harris
percussion: grace goss

https://lostlanguag.es

13 moons (for julia), 2024 [240320 excerpt]

composed january—march 2020, phoenicia, n.y.
6.1 channel electronics.

recorded live, april 7, 2020, mount tremper arts, n.y.

https://lostlanguag.es



___________________________
sample source: 
structure sonore (1973), françois & bernard baschet
courtesy neuberger museum of art, n.y. 

sculpture performed by j. harris
sample recorded by o. divone for suny purchase sound lab.

structure 1973, study iv/f, 2020 [live, mount tremper arts]

jonathan harris 🌑
bio.site/jonathanharris

installation documentation, compositions, and sketches. here for now; eventually transitioning these audio documents to a dedicated website. enjoy.

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