Hidden Inside Mountains, Laurie Anderson’s new film, presents 12 stories about the way we experience time.

Including an original score written and recorded by Anderson, the work features a playful combination of violins, bells, dog barks, melody and electronic sounds.

Commissioned to be performed at the 2005 World Expo in Aichi, Japan, Hidden Inside Mountains contains constructed landscapes that emphasize the ephemeral nature of time and the act of free association in the present tense.

“The film explores how we move through time,” says Anderson, “and what kind of illusions that creates for us.”

Born in Chicago, IL, Laurie Anderson completed a degree in Art History and Librarianship from Barnard College, NY. She later went on to study at Columbia University, NY, working toward a graduate degree in sculpture.

Nurtured by the experimental art scene of the early 1970s, Anderson began to work with sound, synthesizer, performance and film.

As a groundbreaking leader in the use of technology in the arts, Anderson has created large-scale theatrical works incorporating a variety of media including music, video, storytelling, projected imagery and sculpture.

As a visual artist, her work has been presented at major museums worldwide, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. She has also released seven albums.

Image credit:

Laurie Anderson
Hidden Inside Mountains, 2004
Digital video
25 minutes, HD Dolby Surround Sound
Courtesy of the Artist and Canal Street Communications, New York, NY

Return to Time is of the Essence: Contemporary Landscape Art