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Art Exhibition — Norman Long: Calumet in Dub
Friday, August 16 , 9:00 am – Monday, September 30 , 5:00 pm CDT
Calumet in Dub features an audio installation, photographs, and videos by Chicago-based artist and Illinois State University alum Norman W. Long. This project is a modified version of one that Long recently premiered at the Glass Curtain Gallery at Columbia College, Chicago.
Calumet in Dub bridges Long’s backgrounds in art, landscape architecture, and experimental audio with his interests in memory, environmental justice, and American history. Long engaged in a range of ecological and sound-based research about the area surrounding Lake Calumet and the Little Calumet River, near where he lives. The exhibition title acknowledges both the location addressed and the audio technique of dubbing that he employed.
Inspired by viewing a BBC feature about the connection between the Little Calumet River and the Great Migration, he began to investigate, in his words, “how housing, labor, and environmental activism has coalesced in this location” and how “Hazel Johnson, considered the ‘mother of the environmental justice movement,’ diligently brought these issues to light.”
Long made field recordings, photographs, and videos at historical sites along the Calumet River, including the Jan and Aagje Ton Farm, which served as a safe house along the Underground Railroad, and Indian Ridge Marsh, which currently serves as a wildlife habitat for endangered birds. Other locations include the Acme Steel Company, Steelworkers Park, Beaubien Woods, and a pumping station that aerates the river. Long also collected data on regional pollution and demographics from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Census Bureau. He translated these data into audio files, which he combined with his field recordings and experimental compositions. The resulting soundscapes for Calumet in Dub include surprising combinations of rippling water, rhythmic beeping, and disembodied singing.
Long describes his practice as centering around “walking, listening, improvising, performing, teaching, field recording, and exploring memory, place, ecology, and race.” Each of these elements will come into play when Long leads a Sound Walk around part of Illinois State University’s campus. He has led multiple walks with the Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology as part of the Chicago Park District’s Night Out in the Parks program.
In addition to the Sound Walk, this exhibition is the center point of multiple programs. University Galleries’ staff is leading art-making workshops for ISU students, K-12 students, and community members. Sensory-friendly times are available. Virtual and in-person curator-led tours are available by appointment. Field trip reimbursements are available for K-12 schools and community organizations.
Norman W. Long: Calumet in Dub is organized by Kendra Paitz, University Galleries’ director and chief curator. This exhibition and programming are supported by University Galleries’ grants from the Illinois Arts Council, Harold K. Sage Foundation, and the Illinois State University Foundation Fund. Workshops and field trip reimbursements are supported by the Lori Baum and Aaron Henkelman University Galleries Community Fund.
