play structures that make sounds!

As part of this project, Nina conducted extensive interviews with people who work in the orange industry as well as with those with strong personal histories related to this fruit.

Inspired by oranges, the grove and loop de loop emit sounds that relate to this fruit as you approach, touch, climb, swing, and otherwise explore the space. Some of these sounds, like orange juice being poured, are familiar while others might not be so easily recognized. As part of this project, Nina conducted extensive interviews with people who work in the orange industry as well as with those with strong personal histories related to this fruit. In the installation, you will hear excerpts of the interviews about labor, agricultural life, and the sounds of oranges as they are eaten, harvested, or processed by machines. You will also hear singing and information about oranges. All of the sounds are arranged in specific locations throughout the installation and are activated by the visitor by walking and climbing through the space.

The artist wants visitors to think about how one’s relationship to something, i.e. oranges, affects what that item means. For example, an agricultural laborer who works in the citrus industry will regard oranges quite differently from someone who only encounters oranges once they are available for sale in a grocery store. Individual circumstances have a great impact on the way we perceive and experience things. Similarly, as you activate the artwork with your gestures and touches, you are creating your own unique sound-filled journey through the orange-inspired landscape.

Who Made This?

Nina Waisman is a visual and media artist who makes sculptures that respond to movement. A former dancer, she explores how ideas and ways of thinking are influenced by how our bodies experience different spaces, “physical thinking.” With Orange we… Nina wants visitors to experience how the meaning of something, as simple as an orange, shifts depending on how you physically encounter it. The artist encourages visitors to put together their own story or feeling for the orange by using their bodies to tune the many orange-related sounds available in the space.

Visiting During Spring Break?

It’s Spring Break and NCM will be busy now through April 14. Click for some tips to help you plan for and enjoy your visit!