Chris Kallmyer: Song Cycle
Wednesday, January 7, 2026
Song Cycle is a kinetic sculpture featuring ever-changing poetry. Part imagined, part remembered, and part observed, the revolving text is continually inscribed and reinscribed by a 256-character split-flap readymade sign reminiscent of the arrival and departure boards seen at airports and train stations in the 20th century. In the Brotman Forum, Song Cycle serves as a bridge between this public space and SAM’s art galleries. Visitors arriving or departing might glance up and see a fragment of text that captivates them. The piece’s changing nature reflects the museum’s role as a place for evolving thought, not just static displays.
A musician who works in art and design, Chris Kallmyer has performed and exhibited at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Walker Art Center, The Getty, Pulitzer Arts Foundation, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, STUDIO TeatrGaleria, and Fondation d'entreprise Pernod Ricard, among other spaces. He has created interdisciplinary projects in collaboration with Mark Mothersbaugh, Moses Sumney, Julia Holter, and Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner’s Eaux Claires Festival.
Kallmyer completed his MFA in 2009 at the California Institute of the Arts. During this time, he worked closely with the storefront/collective Machine Project, creating multiple projects at institutions like LACMA, Hammer Museum, The Getty, Walker Art Center, The Parsons School of Design, and the Berkeley Art Museum. Kallmyer is a longtime collaborator with the modern music collective Wild Up, with whom he was nominated for a 2023 Grammy Award for Julius Eastman’s “Stay On It.”
Song Cycle was originally commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gustavo Dudamel Artistic Director.
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