FREE with museum admission
F1 Galleries, Gundlach Building

Join us for a lecture in Steina: Playback with Professor of Cultural Management at Bifröst University Njörður Sigurjónsson!

Steina’s oeuvre, particularly her experimental video and sound pieces, exemplifies the concept of “noise” as both a disruptor and a harbinger of transformation. In Violin Power (1978), Steina uses her violin to manipulate video imagery, merging sound and vision in ways that defy linear storytelling and traditional “musicking.” Her reimagination of natural soundscapes through manipulation often positions noise as a force of distortion, where disruption serves as an urgent call to confront systemic issues. In Noise: The Political Economy of Music (1977), French economist Jacques Attali described noise as prophetic, suggesting that the arrangement of sound—emerging first as noise—articulates generational angst and foretells societal change.

This talk examines Steina’s work through a sonic lens, connecting it to broader critiques of visual hegemony and the “downfall of the eye.” By framing her art through the metaphor of “noise,” the discussion explores what emerges when we engage with her work through listening. Steina’s ability to disrupt traditional artistic norms, resist commodification, and compose new sensory realities aligns with Attali’s vision of noise as both a disruptive force and a catalyst for transformation. Her innovative use of technology to navigate sound, vision, and nature solidifies her significance in understanding how noise reflects and shapes cultural and societal futures.