Search
Friday, March 24, 2023
The Daily
Search
News
Multimedia
Sports
Opinion
In-Depth
Subscribe
Lifestyles
The Roost
Classifieds
Send a Tip
°
Full Forecast
The Daily News
  • News
  • Lifestyles
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Multimedia
  • In-Depth
  • The Roost
  • Classifieds
  • Send a Tip
  • Donate
  • News
  • Lifestyles
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Multimedia
  • In-Depth
  • The Roost
  • Classifieds
  • Send a Tip
Search

Subscribe

Subscribe to The Daily News

news 6/29/2021, 4:00pm

Muncie Arts and Culture Council presents one-night exhibition of cicada chorus

By Sam Shipe
Muncie Arts and Culture Council presents one-night exhibition of cicada chorus

Still shots from the cicada chorus video show volunteers mimicking the sounds of Brood X cicadas in Salt Lake State Park. The Cicada Chorus is a one-night exhibition presented by the Muncie Arts and Culture Council June 29, 2021. Erin Mallea, Photo Provided

Share

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Mail
  • Print

With the Brood X cicadas quieting down around Muncie, one local artist is interested in lifting their voices.

Erin Mallea is working with Plyspace, an immersive Artist-in-Residence program based in the Emily Kimbrough Historic District in downtown Muncie to debut her creation — a video combining volunteers, family and friends mimicking the sounds of the Brood X cicadas compiled together with the cicadas themselves. 

Growing up, Mallea’s father was an avid birdwatcher and she took particular interest in people who mimicked bird calls. She had an idea for a project surrounding people mimicking the noises of insects for a few years, and the emergence of the Brood X gave her the opportunity she was looking for.

After spending time over a few months developing different sounds from listening to the cicadas by themselves and in groups, she began recording people mimicking those sounds —first, family and friends, then Muncie locals and youth from Camp Adventure, an outdoor environmental education facility in Muncie. Then, Mallea recorded a group of volunteers at Salt Lake State Park mimicking the cicadas while cicadas themselves added to the background music. The video that will display at the Playspace Gallery will layer that footage with all the voices and sounds she has recorded during the process.

“We are dependent on many other species, including insects, to sustain human life,” Mallea said via email. “The mass emergence of cicadas is a clear reminder that human beings are a very small subset of life on this planet. If you live in a place where Brood X cicadas are everywhere and flying into you, you’re confronted by this fact.”

Erin Mallea's upcoming projects

For those who don't want to wait until 2038 when the Brood X cicadas reemerge to see another one of Erin Mallea's projects, here is a list of her upcoming shows:

  • Refuge exhibition — at Smith College in Massachusetts
  • Temporary sculptural and sound installation with collaborator Jen Vaughn for the Bloomfield Garden Club in July 2021
  • Tree News newsletter, launched in April 2021, with its second issue upcoming this fall


Source: Erin Mallea

This exhibition will be presented June 29 at 6 p.m. for one night at the Plyspace Gallery and will begin with an artist talk from Mallea.

“The artist talk will focus on the work Mallea has completed at PlySpace, as well as previous work,” an event release from Plyspace said. “‘The Cicada Chorus’ was created in collaboration with participants from the Muncie community. This event is free and open to the public, with masks required.”

Mallea said she is presenting the cicada chorus for the first time at the Plyspace Gallery.

“My time at PlySpace is really a first attempt at this idea. It’s been exciting to finally get the project off the ground and experiment,” Mallea said. “One day, I’d love for it to grow bigger and collaborate with a composer, audio engineer and large choir. I’m happy to have this first stage to explore different ways to approach it and develop an approach for the future.”

If Mallea continues to pursue the cicada chorus, she said, there could be an even bigger project in 2038 when Brood X is expected to reemerge.

Contact Sam Shipe with comments at scshipe@bsu.edu or on Twitter @JournalistSam. 

Share



Related Stories

Watch-Warn Scene cwx.png

Heavy rain likely tonight with the potential for flash flooding

Lily Redmon and Carson Fakes hold a Women’s History Week Event for all students to get involved

Lily Redmon and Carson Fakes hold a Women’s History Week Event

By Masen Trowbridge

Images From: Dicebreaker, Pixabray

Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Releases Character Stat Sheets | Checkpoint

By Byte Staff


The Daily News welcomes thoughtful discussion on all of our stories, but please keep comments civil and on-topic. Read our full guidelines here.



Most Popular


Men's Volleyball 3/15/2023, 10:56pm

Cardinals bring out the brooms as they sweep rival Ohio State

By Corbin Hubert

Women's Tennis 2/27/2023, 9:38am

Women's Tennis head coach placed on administrative leave


Delaware County High School Boys Basketball 2/26/2023, 12:00pm

CARTER: Delaware County's most improved boys high school basketball players


Delaware County High School Boys Basketball 2/26/2023, 9:16pm

CARTER: Delaware County's best high school boys Basketball players





Tweets by bsudailynews
To Homepage
  • About
  • Guidelines
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • The Daily

All Rights Reserved

© Copyright 2023 The Daily News

Powered by Solutions by The State News.