STEVE PARKER
sculptor, musician, & public artist
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War Tuba Recital

War Tuba Recital is a sound sculpture series by Steve Parker inspired by early 20th-century acoustic surveillance devices used to detect enemy aircraft before radar. Built from salvaged brass instruments and custom tubing, these wearable listening sculptures explore the history of sound in warfare and surveillance. Sound art, sculpture, interactive art, military history.

WAR TUBA RECITAL

WAR TUBA RECITAL examines the history of conflict through sound. Combining military artifacts (acoustic locators, air raid sirens, leaflet propaganda of Dr. Seuss, coded radio transmissions, the WWII Ghost Army, and the weaponization of marching bands) with the sonic philosophies of John Cage, Pauline Oliveros, and Cornelius Cardew, items are transformed into tools for awareness, discovery, and renewal.

The exhibition is conceived of as an ongoing performance where visitors realize a series of compositions using sonic headwear, invented instruments, and graphic notation.

This exhibition was generously supported by Tito’s Handmade Vodka and Big Medium.

Press: Arts + Culture Texas (Cover Story) | Glasstire | Austin Chronicle | Art Profiler | Sightlines

“WAR TUBA RECITAL is a commanding, absorbing show. The generosity and respect with which Parker forms his connections — sonic, sculptural, conceptual — always includes his audience, and always invites them to create their own.”
— Annelyse Gelman, Glasstire

Video by Jose Lozano

Photos by Colin Doyle (1-4) and Sarah Frankie Linder (5-28)