Aithér (2025) for mezzo-soprano and cello - Asher Lurie

This piece is a response to "Aithér" by Berenice Olmedo, currently on display at the Moody Center for the Arts, Rice University. The sculpture depicts an object made of orthoprosthetics, simultaneously looking both living and nonliving. Supported by socket adapters for prosthesis and a circular steel tube, the object rotates at a constant speed. Olmedo challenges notions of bodily integrity by imitating human forms with objects conventionally used to replace body parts. The result combines movement and stillness, producing a distinctly surreal appearance.
Before even viewing "Aithér", I had an intensely visceral reaction while reading about it. Learning about the process and materials used to create the sculpture illuminated memories of tearing my ACL and having ACL reconstruction surgery a few years ago. I re-injured my ACL badly a few weeks before seeing the work, making these memories far too close and real. I was overwhelmed by the description of the sculpture, but couldn’t keep myself reading about it. When I finally viewed "Aithér", I was amazed by how it appeared so lifeless yet full of life. I was inspired to write a composition depicting this contrast between stillness and movement while portraying the profound impression Olmedo’s sculpture originally made on me.

Hebrew Text: אָר֣וּר הָאִ֡ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יַֽעֲשֶׂה פֶ֨סֶל וּמַסֵּכָ֜ה תּֽוֹעֲבַ֣ת יְהֹוָ֗ה מַֽעֲשֵׂ֛ה יְדֵ֥י חָרָ֖שׁ וְשָׂ֣ם בַּסָּ֑תֶר

Translation: Cursed be any party who makes a sculptured or molten image, abhorred by the Lord, a craftsman’s handiwork, and sets it up in secret.

Performed on November 1, 2025 by Isabelle Kosempa and Claire Druffner at the Moody Center for the Arts at Rice University.