ABOVE: detail of Janet Cardiff’s Forty Part Motet (2001) seen here when it was installed at the Tate Liverpool in 2003. Cardiff has been commissioned to do one of her audio walks for the National Mall in Washington by the Hirshhorn Gallery.

The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Gallery, one of the many tentacles of the Smithsonian, announced recently that it has commissioned Canadian artist Janet Cardiff to make them one of her special Audio Walks, this time of the National Mall in Washington. Cardiff specializes in audio installations, many of them using portable headphones and multi-channel audio to force viewers/listeners to experience spaces differently—she narrates listeners through the route they’re supposed to follow, blending ambient noises she records on the route with her own voice, pointing out landmarks and usually adding hi-fidelity sound effects to produce aural hallucinations. This particular audio walk will include samples of famous speeches, which seems apt considering the location, and also a cappella music, apparently just for the hell of it.

The Hirshhorn installation starts August 3 and goes to the end of October. The press release also adds that visitors taking the free tour will be outfitted with an iPod Shuffle containing the audio program, so if you’ve always wanted an iPod Shuffle, now’s your chance to trade in your driver’s license for a free one.

LINK: Hirshhorn Museum > Hirshhorn commissions Janet Cardiff to creat audio walk for national mall