Dream House (image http://www.amoeba.com)

In 2006, I made my first visit to La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela’s Dream House in New York City. A friend led me blindly to an apartment building on Church Street in Tribeca. She rang the unmarked doorbell and we were buzzed in. We descended a steep staircase to the top of the building, and as we made our way to the top floor, I started to hear a sound get louder and louder. In the hallway, we were each instructed to take off our shoes. When I entered the apartment I found myself immersed in a magical multi-sensory experience. The room was soaked in purple light, and there was an intense drone that vibrated through my entire body. The room was covered in soft wall to wall carpeting, with a speaker in each of the four corners. The speakers each emit a single frequency tone and are situated perfectly so that the sound waves clash and cause visitors to hear different sounds as they move about the room. The sounds are so intense that even slightly moving your head causes a perceivable change. It’s an amazing experience. When I left the Dream House that first night, I was gifted a cutting from La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela’s Ming Aralia plant. It was a little branch, no longer than 6 inches. I still have the plant today and it’s grown up into a tall and healthy tree, reminding me of all of my visits to the wonderful Dream House.

Ming Aralia

The Dream House was installed in 1993 and is still open to the public. You can check the website for days and hours of operation.