Drum Listens to Heart

Artists from Francis Alys to the Otolith Group meditate on the aesthetic and political possibilities of the percussive

Accompanying the 2022 exhibition at Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts in San Francisco, Drum Listens to Heart reflects on the many ways that percussion exists beyond the framework of music and imagines the percussive as an aesthetic, expressive and political form more broadly. The publication includes a new essay by the curator, images of the works in the exhibition by the 25 artists and artist collectives, and short texts by 10 scholars, writers, artists and curators who respond to a single word to create a glossary of terms associated with percussion. Artists include: Francis Alys, Luke Anguhadluq, Marcos Avila Forero, Raven Chacon, Em'kal Eyongakpa, Theaster Gates, Milford Graves, David Hammons, Consuelo Tupper Hernandez, Susan Howe & David Grubbs, NIC Kay, Barry Le Va, Rose Lowder, Lee Lozano, Guadalupe Maravilla, Harold Mendez, Rie Nakajima, the Otolith Group, Lucy Raven, Davina Semo, Michael E. Smith, Haegue Yang and David Zink Yi. Live performances by Elysia Crampton Chuquimia, Moor Mother, Nkisi, Nomon, Karen Stackpole, Marshall Trammell and William Winant.