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The new Church of Noise gallery at the headquarters of Indianapolis-based music label Joyful Noise Recordings will exhibit drawings by a major underground artist when the space opens next week.
But vivid Magic Marker artworks by late musician Daniel Johnston aren’t the only attraction at Church of Noise, which initially was a fundraising effort during the pandemic to support musicians unable to tour.
At the new physical manifestation of Church of Noise, it’s difficult to overlook a leafy installation known as the Sound Sanctuary. Joyful Noise founder Karl Hofstetter describes Sound Sanctuary as an interactive exhibit that detects changes in the electrical conductivity of plants and converts that information into sound.
“Plant consciousness is a topic that’s not researched enough,” said Hofstetter, a North Central High School alum who’s built Joyful Noise into a significant independent label that’s worked with artists such as Son Lux, Kishi Bashi and the late David Lynch.
Attendees at the Jan. 24 opening of Church of Noise can check out Sound Sanctuary and its money tree centerpiece that’s connected to audio equipment by sensors.
Hofstetter said water and light change a plant’s electrical signals. He also believes the plants in Sound Sanctuary respond to the moods of people present in the gallery.
Last fall, violinist and Joyful Noise artist Kishi Bashi visited Indianapolis to collaborate with sounds emanating from the plants. Hofstetter said a recording of that session will be released as part of a Sound Sanctuary series. (Hofsetter said he was surprised to learn that Kimberly Dill, a college professor who’s married to Kishi Bashi, recently wrote a research paper titled “AI, Plants and Representing Nature.”)
Thor Harris, a Joyful Noise artist who played percussion in cult band Swans a decade ago, designed and built the plant stand of Sound Sanctuary—collecting pieces of wood from Indy Urban Hardwood Co.
Indy Urban Hardwood Co. is a neighbor of Joyful Noise in a retail strip near the intersection of East Raymond Street and South Sherman Drive, just north of Beech Grove. Healer music venue is part of the same complex.
Hofstetter said he plans to display visual artwork by a different musician every quarter at Church of Noise.
The Jan. 24 opening will serve as a local commemoration of “Hi, How Are You Day,” an annual celebration of Johnston’s birthday in Austin, Texas. Johnston, who died in 2019, was born on Jan. 22, 1961.
Don Goede, one of the keepers of Johnston’s estate, served as curator for the Church of Noise exhibition titled “Blue Skies will Haunt You from Now On.”
The drawings range from portrayals of goofy sentiments to romantic quests to intense struggles between good and evil that provided a subtext to much of Johnston’s work.
In terms of music, Johnston’s best-known song is likely “True Love Will Find You in the End,” a 1984 tune that’s been covered by artists such as Beck and Wilco.
The Joyful Noise catalog includes one single by Johnston and a reissue of “It’s Spooky,” an album Johnston made with Jad Fair in 1989.
Hofstetter refers to Johnston as foundational to the label owner’s understanding of what art is.
“He just created in the most crazy, authentic and blissfully unaware way possible,” Hofstetter said.
Church of Noise gallery opening
- When: 6-10 p.m. Jan. 24
- Where: Joyful Noise Recordings, 3625 E. Raymond St.
- Admission: Free with reservation
- Info: Visit eventbrite.com.
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