In a career spanning 50 years, Bill Fontana has become internationally recognized for his pioneering experiments in sound. He has consistently used sound as a sculptural medium to interact with and transform our perceptions of visual and architectural spaces. Applying his knowledge of composition, he draws out patterns of sound from natural and manmade worlds to create sound works that have the potential to conjure up visual imagery in the mind of the listener.

Many of these works create live listening networks that collect information from sources as diverse as the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, the Millennium Bridge in London, the beaches of Normandy, fog horns in San Francisco, old growth forests, hydroelectric turbines and urban environments. From the late nineties until the present, Fontana’s projects have explored hybrid listening technologies using acoustic microphones, underwater sensors (hydrophones) and structural/material sensors (accelerometers). His more recent works are explorations of the relationship between image and sound, expressed through the combined mediums of audio and video.

Last summer Fontana presented a series of sound and video sculptures that reveal the silent resonances of the ten bells of Notre Dame. He has been given exclusive access to the restoration site to set up a live network of sensors on the bells that will remain in place throughout the restoration. In June-July 2022, the Centre Pompidou will present Fontana’s sound installation that animates the 5th floor terrace with the resonances of the bells that are housed in the iconic cathedral towers which are directly visible from this vantage point. The presentation continues in October 2022, when IRCAM Pompidou will celebrate the reopening of their renowned Espace de la Projection by presenting Fontana’s totally immersive multi-channel sound and video installation that plunges the visitor into the hidden acoustic and visual structures of Notre Dame.