Voyages: Chapter 6 Sneak Peek with Featured Artist Dan Deacon
Baltimore-based recording artist and performer Dan Deacon hopes his composition inspires guests to reflect on their connections to the ecosystems around them.
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For Dan Deacon, the National Aquarium was a fond childhood destination. But recent trips to the Aquarium have transformed a childhood memory into something inspiring. Dan fell in love with the Aquarium's kineticism found in the animals, habitats and even the droning of the life support systems, which Dan describes as musical.
Recording artist and performer Dan Deacon is the featured artist for the National Aquarium's Voyages: Chapter 6 event on November 21. This project rekindled Dan's connection to the Aquarium—a connection he hopes to foster for other adults, too. His composition will spotlight how feedback loops cause exponential changes in natural systems and humanity's influence on the systems' transformations.
Dan felt drawn to feedback loops from the start, intrigued by feedback's presence in music, electronics and ecology.
"I don't see art as intersecting with the natural world because, to me, it is part of the natural world," Dan said. "The arts, at their core, are part of our mental ecosystem."
For his residency, Dan met with General Curator Jack Cover and Director of Life Support Andy Aiken for a tour of Aquarium exhibits and the life support systems humming behind the scenes. Dan was also passionate about deeply understanding the Animal Care and Welfare team's guidance on factors like decibel levels and directional sound to ensure the animals' comfort.
Dan knew he wanted his external expert to be someone who acted as a guardian of an ecosystem with extensive knowledge of local feedback loops. Aquarium experts Jack Cover and Conservation Policy Manager Maggie Ostdahl had the perfect person in mind.
Driving Along the Patuxent River
Local waterkeeper and Henry Hall relative Fred Tutman founded Patuxent Riverkeeper in 2004 and is currently the only African American waterkeeper in the country. As a waterkeeper, Fred cares for and advocates for the Patuxent River by performing water quality checks, enforcing regulations, working to improve state ordinances and more. His organization was also instrumental in changing how Maryland regulates stormwater runoff, helping citizens attain standing in state courts and obtaining a landmark consent decree with a wastewater utility.
While touring the Patuxent River, Dan and Fred discussed the intersection of different ecosystems, such as ecological, financial, social, legal and more, at play along the river.
"Fred offers a holistic view of the ecosystem. His views on how race, class, capitalism and policy all directly affect the ecosystem were extremely illuminating and a reminder of how massively complex ecosystems are, how fragile they can be and how easily feedback can create deviations from homeostasis," Dan said.
Composing an Ecosystem of Sound
Energized by insight from experts, Dan composed "Feedback Loop," an interactive musical experience inspired by the transformations of natural systems as they react to environmental changes. During the Voyages event, dozens of musicians will be stationed throughout Blue Wonders, playing in isolation, in small groups and collectively via radio and sheet music. The musicians will remain stationary throughout the performance to create a stretched-out orchestra where the music "moves" around guests. The music will act as a live feedback loop, transforming based on interactions between musicians and guests.
"The audience will be a part of the ecosystem of sound. As guests flow through the Aquarium, their location and their experience of the music will impact the performers around them, which will have a downstream effect on the rest of the performance until it ultimately loops back into itself," Dan explained. "Just like in nature, the effects might not be noticeable right away. Still, over time, they alter the environment and will either push us further from or bring us closer to homeostasis."
Dan's music is composed to encourage guests to add to the music by interacting with the musicians to see how they can affect the ecosystem of his composition. His 20-minute piece will be played multiple times throughout the night, giving guests ample opportunity to influence the ecosystem's composition and the course of the evening.
"My favorite part about interaction is that even if you choose not to participate, you've still interacted with the work that's asked for your participation," Dan said. "That's been an aspect of my performance practice for many years now, but I think this performance will expand upon it in ways I've never experienced before."
The night's music will feature strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, singers, synthesizers, computers and other electronic sounds. Projections, lighting and sound equipment will add to the night's feedback loop. The after-party will feature one of Dan Deacon's famous interactive DJ shows, inviting guests to become a part of the performance with prompts, challenges and interpretive dance.
Embracing Connection
Dan is excited for guests to feel a sense of wonder as they shift between observing and transforming the experience. Most importantly, he wants guests to feel mindful of the animals and performers throughout the Aquarium and carry that same consideration for nature and art into their everyday lives.
"I hope voyagers leave feeling a greater connection to their role in the feedback loops they are a part of within the actual ecosystem, with those around them and within themselves," Dan shared. "I'm hoping the performance and the audience's role in it will help highlight the endless fractals of connectivity we all have with everything around us."