Quotidian focuses on drawing attention to the sounds that we encounter in our common spaces, while emulating the everyday situation of attempting to identify those sounds. Quotidian is a generative quadraphonic sound work, which plays indefinitely without repeating, and invites the visitors to place their ear to the wall for listening. The objects in the work are seamless to the visitor and the only visual element is a 6’ square wall drawing indicating the listening perimeter where the visitors would place their ears. There are four transducers attached from the inside of the wall matching each corner of the external drawing that serve as the piece’s output. The audio will generate differently each time it plays and move spatially throughout the four transducers. Only a subtle fraction of the audio emission can be heard in the space when there is proximity to the wall, therefore the participants need to place their ear to the wall in order to become receptive of the piece. As the visitors place their ears on the wall each person’s skin, make up, sweat, etc., will leave a trace, continuously contributing to the overall construct of the work.

Ella Fontanals-Cisneros established the non-profit Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (CIFO) in 2002. The foundation’s mission is to support and foster cultural understanding and educational dialog among Latin American artists and global audiences. CIFO serves as a platform for emerging, mid-career and established Latin American artists through the Grants & Commissions Program, the CIFO Collection, the CIFO Art Space, and other related art and cultural projects in the United States of America and internationally.