Katie Grinnan: Astrology Orchestra

DiverseWorks and Rice Public Art are collaborating to present Astrology Orchestra on Saturday, November 14 at the James Turrell Twilight Epiphany Skyspace on the Rice University campus. Astrology Orchestra is an ongoing symphonic performance project. Each instrument represents a planetary position and maps the artist’s astrological birth chart as seen from the perspective of each planet. The chart is translated into the strings of handmade instruments that are tuned accordingly. Echoing Turrell’s pyramidal structure, for the live performance in Houston, Grinnan will reference ancient astrology, which relies solely on planets that can be seen with the naked eye.

Astrology Orchestra will be performed by Grinnan together with Houston musicians, students, and artists (Kelly Johnson, Juan Sebastian, Jhon Stronks, Molly Turner, Ken Watkins, and Tek Wilson). Grinnan has previously performed this work in a series of significant artistic and architectural locations including the 60-inch telescope at the Mount Wilson Observatory; Venice Beach; and the Integratron, a structure designed and built by ufologist George Van Tassell near Joshua Tree in the 1950s.