Culture
These Jagged Spikes Are What Absolute Silence Looks Like
We imagined it would be way flatter.
“Welcome to the desert of the real.” That’s a line from The Matrix that has next to nothing to do with Douglas Wheeler’s PSAD Synthetic Desert III visually and sonically impressive installation at New York’s Guggenheim museum. The work consists of a vast, muted space that’s been soundproofed by perfectly arranged pyramids made from the same material used in anaechoic chambers. The combination creates the effect of looking out into a vast desert, not unlike the deserts in the American southwest.
The design was originally conceived by Wheeler in the ’70s. He comes from the Light and Space movement—the same movement as James Turrell (whose light installations famously inspired Drake’s colorful “Hotline Bling” video). To learn more, click here.
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