WIND CHIMES IN THE GARDEN

Continuing: Songs in the garage. Wind chimes in the garden. Walker Art Center has found lovely ways to sneak art into our lives in the most unexpected fashion. The parking ramp attached to the Walker can be confusing, but its high ceilings are perfect for vocalization as evidenced by the way Susan Philipsz's ethereal voice shimmers there, singing a plaintive Appalachian folk tune in the cool air. And if you hike to the grove at the north end of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, you'll encounter an equally seductive twinkling of wind chimes, 50 of which are tucked into the trees north of the "Spoonbridge and Cherry" sculpture. The chimes are a project of Pierre Huyghe, who was inspired by John Cage's 1948 score "Dream." The chimes include wind pipes that seem to hum in different tones as they jingle gently in the wind. Huyghe made a pipe for each note of Cage's composition, but lets nature perform the piece in a random way; Cage would approve. The chimes change pitch and rhythm in response to the wind, sometimes moving lazily or not at all, other times clanging faster and almost whistling in stronger gusts. Both sound installations are part of the must-see show "The Quick and the Dead," which smartly showcases work by more than 50 conceptual artists in the Walker galleries through Sept. 27. At the nearby Basilica of St. Mary, Cage's composition "Organ2/ASLSP" will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and again at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 27. (Gallery admission, $10 adults; garden and Basilica, free. Walker Art Center and Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, 1750 Hennepin Av. S. Ends Sept. 27. 612-375-7600 or www.walkerart.org)

MARY ABBE