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Hamilton's 'soundings' is music to the eye

Mary Chandler

Published November 7, 2008 at 3 p.m.

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From one of Hamilton's body object images from the 1980s, which are black-and-white photographs of her performances.

From one of Hamilton's body object images from the 1980s, which are black-and-white photographs of her performances.

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There was a period this summer when artist Ann Hamilton seemed to be making Denver her second home.

The Ohio-based artist was here preparing the short, sharp choral piece Circles of O for the Dialog:Denver project. In addition, her work was installed as part of an exhibition organized by Robischon Gallery in conjunction with the Democratic National Convention.

Now the DNC (and the election) is history, but Hamilton is back with a solo show at Robischon. It's titled "soundings," a reference to Hamilton's use of sound, sometimes the spoken word, in so many of her installations.

If you saw that previous Robischon show, you'll feel right at home. That's because Hamilton's beloved whirling double sousaphone bells are back at the entry, as they were in the group show, a shiny suspended beauty with the music of John Philip Sousa occasionally blurting forth. A second double sousaphone bell piece also is installed, making this a regular Sousa festival.

But that shouldn't distract from this eclectic collection of pieces by an artist who works in so many forms, from installations to photography, from the conceptually based use of objects to references to specific sites. Here, that's a sampling of pieces drawn from larger works, a global tour of Hamilton's long resume.

That includes a giant circular camera obscura, a pinhole camera of sorts, as well as the photograph free library of philadelphia, reading, 3, June 2006, which resulted in the appropriately antique, grainy look.

The gallery has hung four body object images, photographs that capture Hamilton during performances in the 1980s, including one that shows her with a giant air duct on her head.

Toward the rear of the gallery is score 1 2/15/2007, whose parts include a wooden desk, prints that recall the configuration of sheets of music, and some resin-like models of ear trumpets. It's all about hearing and speaking (or, in this case, singing), a theme that runs through Hamilton's work.

Two standout pieces consume entire walls. Shell includes a row of felt coats that look like old-time dusters, the garments worn to protect those in a Model T (or on horseback) from dust. Here they take on the look of clothing in a fine boutique. Voce, a 20-piece suite of Iris prints installed in a grid format, offers slightly blurry views of people speaking or singing. It's like using a microfilm reader in the library, with an array of faces from long ago.

Born in 1956 in Lima, Ohio, Hamilton is now based in Columbus. She earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in textile design in 1979 from the University of Kansas and a master of fine arts degree in sculpture in 1985 from the Yale University School of Art.

The importance of time and place, augmented by sound and imagery, is key to the work Hamilton has been making for decades. She'll talk about her work Thursday at the gallery. If her presentation in early August at the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design is any indication, it will be literate and expansive - as far-ranging and, well, protean as her work.

Chandlerm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2677

Soundings

* What: solo show of work by Ann Hamilton

* Where and when: Robischon Gallery, 1740 Wazee St., through Nov. 22

* Of note: Hamilton documents a choral performance and reading and gives a gallery talk, 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Robischon

* Information: 303-298-7788, robischon gallery.com