Wolf Tones

By Nancy Shaver, Maximilian Goldfarb, and Sterrett Smith

With contributions from Stan Allen, Charles Curtis, Pradeep Dalal, Stacy Wakefield Forte, Anna Friz, Julia Klein, Ann Lauterbach, Catherine Lord, Matana Roberts, and David Levi Strauss

When a bowed, stringed instrument is played, the vibrations of certain notes can resonate at the same frequency as the vibrations of the instrument itself. The dissonant effect that results is referred to as a “wolf tone,” for its howl, and is almost universally characterized as an unpleasant deviance. For Maximilian Goldfarb, Nancy Shaver, and Sterrett Smith, however, the wolf tone has come to serve as a productive analogy for describing forces at work in a visual field and a model for their ongoing collaboration, Wolf Tones.

Having previously brought their practices into relation in gallery installations, here they engage with the form of the book and the space of the page by presenting an orchestrated cacophony of their distinct artworks and the source imagery from which they draw inspiration. They are joined by contributors from the realms of art, architecture, art criticism, design, literature, media studies, music, and poetry who likewise explore the potentials of dissonance. Referencing landscape, temporality, sonic surpluses, improvisation, Éliane Radigue’s Naldjorlak, and more, this book addresses the artists’ collaboration as well as the acoustic phenomenon itself, reimagining the wolf tone as something to be celebrated. MORE >

978-1-940190-28-0 | 5.25 x 7 in. | pb | 304 pages | Full color | $28 | Distributed by Artbook | D.A.P. | Available from your local independent bookstore