When looking around at BRIC, many pieces caught my eye, really fitting the remixing theme of the B Side: (Broken) Memory and Remix. Although these pieces were carefully crafted in the eyes of the artists, there was one that stood out to me the most. This piece of art is called Monument to the Sounds of the Roland 808 Drum Machine. When I looked at this initially, I was taken aback by how a piece could be so abstract, but still maintain some sort of form. The patterns and symmetry were something I took note of as I have never really experienced an artist visually represent sound in such a way that resonates with me. In this era where music was evolving with technology, artists were beginning to change the way music was created using electronic sounds mixed in with acoustic sounds. This technique became a pillar in the music industry, as artists like Kanye West and Rick Rubin began to make music with the 808 drum machine, increasing its popularity. David Ellis creates this deity-esque figure out of the figures, patterns, and the addition of eyes, speaking on the magnitude of this machine’s role in music, similar to the way a deity holds a great role in a given universe. Overall, of the many meaningful pieces seen in this exhibit, this piece spoke to me the most.
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