Time to Face the Music

Walk into Pip and Duane Brant's new exhibit at ArtCenter/South Florida, and you might feel as if you've just stepped into a classic Steppenwolf tune — off on a magic carpet ride, whisking through clouds of sound.

"The Flying Carpet" will unfurl this Saturday night at 7 and features a Rube Goldberg-like rug that shakes, rattles, and rolls along with quirky sewing-sound-machines to sweeten the air. Pip Brant created her fluttering opus using a found Oriental carpet, brass ornaments, car parts, and an electric motor that can be activated by spectators engaging foot pedals. Duane Brant's interactive sound contraptions combine vintage sewing machines with shellacked, wooden acoustic forms electronically connected to organs, cellos, or old radios in order to conjure haunting tones.

"This is a very sophisticated show that should serve as an introduction for many viewers to installation and sound art," gushes Jeremy Chestler, ArtCenter's executive director.
Sat., Sept. 5, 7 p.m., 2009