In Memoriam: Sound Artist Jim Green, 1948-2024
In Memoriam: Sound Artist Jim Green, 1948-2024
by Laura I. Miller
I hadn’t heard of sound artist Jim Green, who died in September, but like most Denverites, I’d experienced his work. He’s best known for producing sounds in airports, including Train Call, the jingles that precede announcements at Denver International Airport’s commuter rail line, and Talking Fountain at the Seattle airport, in which microchips play recordings of babbling brooks or a swimmer splashing as the fountain runs.
Jim Green. Laughing Escalator, sound installation in Colorado Convention Center. Image courtesy of Denver Arts and Venues Public Art Program.
Green was born in Minneapolis and moved to Colorado to study sculpture at the University of Colorado Boulder. Though he didn’t finish the program, it was there that he discovered his passion for “nonmusical” sounds. He began recording the people around him and eventually landed a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts that led to audio documentation of the American Carnival.
Jim Green. Soundwalk, 1992, installation on Curtis street between 15th and 16th, sound tracks. Image courtesy of Denver Arts and Venues Public Art Program.
Though Green relocated to Florida, where he died at age 75, he left a lasting mark on Denver. Aside from his airport jingles, he’s also responsible for the Laughing Escalator at the Colorado Convention Center, the Singing Sinks at the Denver Art Museum, and the Sound Walk on Curtis Street.
Jim Green. Unplugged, 2009 installation at MCA Denver, extruded aluminum, pneumatics, electronics, whoopee cushions, and acoustic sound, dimensions variable (each unit 14 x 14 x 15 in). Image by Wes Magyar.
Jim Green. Unplugged (detail), 2009 installation at MCA Denver, extruded aluminum, pneumatics, electronics, whoopee cushions, and acoustic sound, dimensions variable (each unit 14 x 14 x 15 in). Image by Wes Magyar.
His 2009 exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, Unplugged, is indicative of his playful approach. For this show, Green created automated whoopee cushions that were squeezed randomly as viewers entered the space.
Jim Green and Ladies Fancywork Society. Central Platte Construction Fence, sound recordings. Image courtesy of Denver Arts and Venues Public Art Program.
It’s easy to underestimate the value of play. In the 1990s, neurobiologist Arthur Yuwiler began to speculate that the art of play would be lost forever. Green serves as a reminder of its ability to amaze those who are lucky enough to witness it. “I like the idea of kind of nudging people out of their routine a bit, creating a surprise,” Green told CPR News in 2010. “I think that people need surprises.”
Laura I. Miller (she/her) is a Denver-based writer and editor. Her articles, reviews, and short stories appear widely. She received an MFA in creative writing from the University of Arizona.
