Lee Mingwei: Sonic Blossom

Sonic Blossom performance days and times:
Fridays, July 12, 19, 26: 4:00–8:00 p.m.
Saturdays, July 13, 20, 27: 12:00–4:00 p.m.
Sundays, July 14, 21, 28: 12:00–4:00 p.m.

Sonic Blossom is an interactive performance that imparts the gift of song to visitors. This project was born as Lee cared for his mother while she recovered from surgery. The two found comfort in listening to Franz Shubert’s Lieder—poems set to classical music with romantic or pastoral themes written for a single vocalist. As the artist contemplated mortality and the beauty of life, the notion of a folding and unfolding blossom became the foundation for this immersive musical experience.

During specific days in July, a locally trained solo vocalist shares the gift of song in this gallery. The vocalist wears an elegant custom-made garment inspired by the art of origami that incorporates two Japanese maru obi kimono sashes from the 1940s. While wearing this garment, called a “Transformation Gown” by the artist, the vocalist approaches one visitor at a time asking, “May I give you the gift of song?” If the gift is accepted, the visitor is led to a special chair in the gallery and the vocalist performs one of five of Schubert’s Lieder.