Audio is Art: David Bowie “is” at the Brooklyn Museum

“Remember that everybody has to wait in line/Blue Jean, look out world, you know I’ve got mine” — David Bowie, “Blue Jean”

When omni-creator David Bowie penned the above lyrics to his 1984 hit “Blue Jean,” was he looking ahead to David Bowie is, the expansive new exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum? Probably not, but…you never know — after visiting this show, Bowie’s power to look all the way into the future is clear as day.

And it will be worth any wait in a museum line to experience all the ways that Bowie got his from Planet Earth, with the last stop of an 11-city tour of his archive that landed ultimately – as he did – in New York City. Highlights from his personal archive including handwritten lyrics, original costumes, photography, album artwork and rare performance material are on display in Brooklyn from March 2 – July 15^th, for ticket prices ranging from $20-2000.

The Pants of Insanity are literally just the start of what makes “David Bowie is” memorable.

Go Bowie

Whether your allegiance to this insatiable showman runs mild, wild, or even totally indifferent, its highly worthwhile to stop in on David Bowie is. That’s because no matter how well you thought you knew him, this show will inspire you as it expands on your Bowie information base: Costumes, visual art, video, music and many more of his expressions — public and private — are all mashed massively together in this one place. David Bowie is provides to testament to what emerges when a brilliantly talented person wins the right to spend his life wholly focused on creating.

For the audio crowd, exhibit sponsor Sennheiser stepped up to drastically elevate the audio component. High-quality headphones transmitting AMBEO 3D sound and a carefully created accompany audio tour — produced by his beloved collaborator Tony Visconti — makes this more than just a regular art exhibit/career retrospective. As you move through the galleries, passing video displays, photos, and costumes, classic songs from Bowie meld seamlessly into interviews and conversations with the pop culture master — plugging you directly into his memories, musings and intent.

David Bowie in 1982. Photo credit: Greg Gorman, Courtesy of the David Bowie Archive.

Give David Bowie is extra credit for putting his recording studio exploits in the spotlight for the exhibition. This is an artist who released 27 studio albums between 1967-2016, and another 150+ singles, clocking countless hours at facilities in London, NYC, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Berlin, Montreaux and many more. He went from mono in the beginning all the way to surround, and no matter everything else he accomplished, recording studio artistry was his #1 priority. That’s a fact that the acclaimed producer Visconti can attest to, as can engineer Mario McNulty (who provides a first-hand account of working with Bowie at NYC’s the Magic Shop to record 2013’s The Next Day in secret.)

An Exhibit for the Ears

Matthew Yokobosky, Director of Exhibition Design for the Brooklyn Museum, treasured the extra dimension of audio that came with curating David Bowie is, adding on to what was already a lush sonic experience planned by the exhibit’s organizer, London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.

“In the case of an artist like David Bowie, sound is an essential part of his story,” Yokobosky told SonicScoop. “Songs lend mood, and rhythm, and words/lyrics into the overall experience. Soundscapes, such as those on Bowie Low and Heroes albums almost give you a sense of place. In fact, his collaborator Brian Eno has previously made an album entitled Discreet Music based on Eric Satie’s idea of ‘furniture music’ . . . music that was like furniture or wallpaper in a room. It was because of Discreet Music that he contacted Eno to work on the Berlin triptych.

Connect directly to David Bowie’s creative process with sketchbooks, handwritten lyrics and much more. (Photo credit: David Weiss)

“I have always listened to music while drawing, so for me it is a very natural ‘audio environment’ to work in,” Yokobosky continues. “I’ve listened to some albums hundreds of times — Talking Heads Remain in Light, Grace Jones Nightclubbing — because these ‘sounds’ and ‘moods’ provide a very creative space in which to work. So for David Bowie is, I re-listened to his entire catalogue and returned to old favorites like Heroes, Scary Monsters, and Stage.”

Although Yokoblosky doubtless attained his post for his visual prowess, he and his team took full advantage of the available audio elements along with the wireless systems, headphones, and Neumann speakers (in the final gallery) provided by Sennheiser.

“The immersive audio experience for David Bowie is is seamless from the time you enter the exhibition until you exit and return your headphones,” he observes. “It’s almost like a soundtrack to an art exhibition, room to room, scene to scene. Very cinematic. Each song is a part of the storyline; each interview is the dialogue, explaining his stories, his experiences as a musician. Perhaps more documentary, more poetic.”

Yokoblosky got a major assist with David Bowie is from Sennheiser’s Robert Genereux, CTS, CWTS, a veteran of the technical audio setup for all of the show’s 10 previous stops. In each city, Genereux and his team kept the headphones humming using Sennheiser’s guidePORT system for streaming audio tours. As the show progressed from venue to venue, this subtle but crucial technology continued to evolve.

“Since the exhibition is very popular – and since there are so many visitors – we gradually made more space between each guidePORT zones for the in-headphone portion of the show,” Genereux explains. “Even if technically we can create very small triggering areas, this does not help visitors, which is why now the guidePORT zones are bigger and more spread apart.

Max Glam — David Bowie in 1973. Photo credit: Masayoshi Sukita, courtesy of Sukita/The David Bowie Archive.

“The ability to stream real-time audio on location and synched to videos is the key component of the visitor experience,” he continues. “All this is done automatically based on each visitor location in the exhibition. We can also have an unlimited number of concurrent visitors, space permitting.”

Collaborating closely with Genereux, Yokoblosky ensured that the final gallery of the Brooklyn exhibition left visitors with a one-of-a-kind look and listen to David Bowie, as footage of six song performances are displayed on three huge screens that are front, left and center. The audio files were upmixed from mono, stereo or 5.1 to the AMBEO 3D audio format, then played out over a 9.1 setup of Neumann speakers for a most welcome immersion.

“In the last gallery, at the other ten venues half the program was in headphones; half on speakers,” Yokoblosky explains. “For Brooklyn I chose to have that concert gallery be a 100% speaker experience, thereby emphasizing Sennheiser’s new 3D audio technology.  You truly feel like you’re in a concert in that room.  So I had ‘Rebel Rebel,’ and the two versions of ‘Heroes,’ upgraded to 3D audio files.

“Additionally [in other galleries] I added six videotapes, adding additional depth and sound to his story. These include his performance of ‘Foot Stompin’’ on Dick Cavett in 1975, and a new interpretation of his classic ‘Ashes to Ashes,’ performed by Philippe Decoufle’s dance company with singers, in Paris, in 2015.”

All of this Sound+Vision adds up to a most agreeable artistic overload: With so much testament to a singular genius to look at and listen to, it’s hard to know where to focus. All the better to get simply swept away by the finale’s huge, uplifting grandeur of “Heroes,” which puts you face-to-face with a true musical hero, singing to you live and loud in a unique theater.

Hair raised on the back of your neck, you walk out satiated, yet suddenly eager for more of everything life has to offer — just the way David Bowie would want it.

David Bowie is is at the Brooklyn Museum, March 2 – July 15^th.

• David Weiss

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