Podcast Episode Summary

Podcast: All Of It
Host: WNYC
Episode: The Brooklyn Museum Hires a Composer-in-Residence
Date: May 17, 2024

Episode Overview

This episode explores an exciting cultural first at the Brooklyn Museum: the appointment of a composer-in-residence, Niles Luther. Host Kusha Navadar (sitting in for Alison Stewart) interviews Luther and Joan Cummins, Curator of Asian Art, about how original music is now intertwined with a major art exhibit—Hiroshige's "A Hundred Famous Views of Edo," also featuring contemporary works by Takashi Murakami. The conversation uncovers how this innovative addition redefines the museum experience through sound, history, and personal creative exploration.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Genesis of a Composer-in-Residence at the Brooklyn Museum

• Joan Cummins on the Museum’s Approach:
  "We've always been interested at coming at the art from a lot of different angles. We know that there are people who learn with their eyes and people who learn from reading and people who learn from touching and people who learn from listening. And so this is just another way to open a door or a window to the art and to really enhance people's experience." [04:18–04:48]
• The museum’s ongoing commitment to multisensory engagement led to the creation of this unique role.
• Origin of the Role: Niles Luther was supported by a Ford Foundation fellowship, allowing him to work with the museum’s curators and access the collection directly (05:09–05:40).

Why Launch with the Hiroshige Exhibit?

• Context: The Hiroshige prints offer layered historical and cross-cultural meanings, making them prime candidates for a sonic counterpart.
• Joan Cummins:
  “We have modern photographs of Tokyo that we put next to prints that show the same site, we have three dimensional objects from 1850s Japan that are similar to things you see in the prints. And so why not add a musical element as well?” [05:49–06:30]
• The exhibit’s arrangement, blending traditional, contemporary, and now musical perspectives, mirrors how the prints have long bridged Eastern and Western artistic traditions.

A Hidden Treasure: The Museum’s Hiroshige Collection

• The museum’s rare Hiroshige prints sat misclassified in the library for 40 years until identified as original, not reproductions (07:30–08:16).
• Joan Cummins:
  “They put it in the library rather than in the art collection. And it sat on a shelf in the library for 40 years until my predecessor pulled it off the shelf, opened it up and realized...These are really, really good original prints from the 1850s.” [07:45–08:16]

Niles Luther’s Creative Process

• Immersing in the Source: Luther traveled to Japan, visiting the actual temple depicted in one of the prints to absorb the setting firsthand (08:43–09:30).
• On Print 99 ("Kinryuzen Temple in Asakusa"):
  • Luther aimed to echo the print’s calm, snowy atmosphere.
  • He used a felted mallet ("yukiba") on a large Japanese drum ("naga do daiko") to evoke the pulse of a heartbeat, recreating the stillness and intimacy of the temple.
  • Niles Luther:
    “When you're immersed in this very peaceful place, when the snow is falling, it's so quiet that the only thing you can hear is your heartbeat.” [09:30–09:51]
• Escalation in the Composition: He wanted the music to mirror the experience of moving from the temple’s serene exterior to the imposing, vibrant interior, marked by the temple's dominant red and the presence of ceremonial braziers.
  Niles Luther:
  "It was so grand...there was this incredible experience where I felt the weight of history, the weight of the culture, and I was in contact with that in a way that I had never been before." [11:11–11:42]

Print 118: Embracing the Mystical ("New Year's Eve Foxfires at the Changing Tree, Oji")

• Unlike other prints, 118 explores Shinto folklore, depicting supernatural fox spirits gathering on New Year’s Eve.
• Joan Cummins:
  “It’s a real outlier. The series runs through a year, and so this is New Year's Eve, and it depicts a supernatural occurrence...all the fox spirits come together and kind of have a conference and decide what they're going to do for their next coming year.” [11:58–13:07]
• Musical Interpretation:
  "I just really had this sense of like electricity that I wanted to capture...these foxes have this intensity and this wonder and this excitement, I wanted to try and recreate that in the music." — Niles Luther [13:38–13:54]

The Power of Music and Art Together

• Kusha Navadar:
  "How do you hope listening to compositions while looking at this art affects museum goers' relationship to a piece or to even to art in general?" [13:54–14:09]
• Niles Luther:
  “Music...gives you a window, a portal into a different era, possibly so that they could look at these prints and possibly have a new experience, one they might not never have had before.” [14:09–14:38]
• Joan Cummins on New Perspectives:
  Niles’s music changed how she personally relates to the prints, especially the foxfires, transforming her previous perception from “secretive” to vibrant, energetic, and alive.
  Joan Cummins:
  "...With Niles' composition, it's so vibrant and alive and there's, yeah, all this energy running through those flames and those foxes in the middle of the night right there on the edge of the city." [14:48–15:22]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Hidden Prints:
  "They put it on...a shelf in the library for 40 years until my predecessor pulled it off...and realized...these are really, really good original prints from the 1850s."
  — Joan Cummins [07:45–08:16]

• On the Heartbeat in the Temple:
  "When you're immersed in this very peaceful place, when the snow is falling, it's so quiet that the only thing you can hear is your heartbeat."
  — Niles Luther [09:51]

• On Experiencing the Art in New Ways:
  “Music...gives you a window, a portal into a different era, possibly so that they could look at these prints and possibly have a new experience, one they might not never have had before.”
  — Niles Luther [14:28]

• Joan Cummins on New Musical Interpretation:
  "...With Niles' composition, it's so vibrant and alive and there's, yeah, all this energy running through those flames and those foxes in the middle of the night right there on the edge of the city."
  — Joan Cummins [15:17]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:13]: Introduction to episode and guests; background on the composer-in-residence role
• [04:18]: Joan Cummins on why the museum created the role
• [05:09]: Niles Luther on his artistic vision and how the role began
• [07:30]: The story of how the museum’s prints were rediscovered
• [08:43]: Discussion of Print 99, inspiration, and composition details
• [09:51]: Niles Luther shares insights into capturing atmosphere musically
• [11:42]: Joan explains the mystical print 118 and the folklore behind it
• [13:38]: Niles on conveying wonder and electricity musically
• [14:09]: Hopes for audience transformation through music and art interplay
• [14:48]: Joan reflects on how music has changed her connection to the art

Conclusion

This episode provides a nuanced exploration of multisensory approaches to museum experiences, highlighting how deeply music can enrich our relationship with visual art. Through the perspectives of artist and curator, listeners gain insight into both the creative process and the evolving philosophy of art institutions. Niles Luther’s residency marks a meaningful step in reimagining how we encounter history, spirituality, and creativity in public cultural spaces.

Listen to the compositions and learn more by visiting the Brooklyn Museum or the All Of It Instagram page.