Mud Muse, a kinetic artwork created between 1968 and 1971 by American artist Robert Rauschenberg, in collaboration with engineers from Teledyne( through the Art & Technology program at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art), is a large aluminum-and-glass vat that contains an enormous amount of mud, weighing thousands of pounds. Although considered mud by standard terminology, its more appropriate content appellation is bentonite, an absorbent, swelling clay composed of montmorillonite, from weathered volcanic ash.
The mixture is stirred to a distinctive viscosity in the vat, over the course of several hours or days. The primary allure of the art piece is the bubbles produced with the aid of pulsing air valves that are located beneath the surface of the mud. This is connected to an adjacent prerecorded soundtrack that emits sound from a 1960s reel-to-reel. The sound pushes air through the valves, resulting in a physical manifestation of sound emission. Rauschenberg imagined different audio stimuli, including traffic noises, police sirens, and, most ambitiously, real-time sounds made by visitors that would be picked up by a hanging microphone. In the end, he decided that Mud Muse, when officially displayed for the public, would “play itself,” essentially a recursive loop of the audio made by the bubbles.
Rauschenberg (1925-2008), born in Port Arthur, TX, is considered a pioneer in the art scene due to his early adaptations of technology in his work, such as radios, electric lights, and clocks, as well as his more renowned printmaking works. His endeavors into kinetic art began in 1960, after meeting Swiss artist Jean Tinguely. Together, they created several kinetic works alongside engineer Billy Klüver, such as Oracle (1962–65), a sonic sculptural environment, and Soundings (1968), an immersive, voice-activated sound and light installation. This era, which was marked by technological innovation and space exploration, ultimately played a pivotal role in Rauschenberg’s creation of Mud Muse.
In modern days, Mud Muse acts as a tradition passed down through the years. The current installer, Gunnar Marklund, notes that “The audio equipment and its cabinet are quite old and require maintenance and repair on occasion. And there are sixty-four valves in the bottom of the pool, and they do get clogged; I have to check them every time and clean them as needed.” Occasionally, during installation, he experiments with different music to activate the bubbling (in New York recently, ABBA). Overall, the knowledge he has gained over 19 years, he passes on to future generations.
In recapitulation, Mud Muse acts not only as a visual experience, but one that activates hearing, smell, and touch, allowing the public to have a holistic and interactive participation with the piece. It collides two opposing worlds of ancient material and modern technology, creating a piece of art that has withstood the tests of time and continues to bewilder audiences.
Sources:
Artchive. “Oracle – Robert Rauschenberg (1965).” Accessed March 9, 2026.
https://www.artchive.com/artwork/oracle-robert-rauschenberg-1965/
Daniel Langlois Foundation for Art, Science, and Technology. “Collection of Documents Published by E.A.T.” Accessed March 9, 2026.
https://www.fondation-langlois.org/html/e/page.php?NumPage=394
Elephant Magazine. “Rauschenberg’s Mud Muse Taught Me to Find Cohesion Even Amidst Chaos.” January 28, 2021.
https://elephant.art/rauschenberg-mud-muse-taught-me-to-find-cohesion-even-amidst-chaos-28012021/
Rauschenberg Foundation. “Soundings.” Accessed March 9, 2026.
https://www.rauschenbergfoundation.org/art/artwork/soundings
Teledyne Technologies. “EverywhereYouLook!” Accessed March 9, 2026.
https://www.teledyne.com/en-us
Tinguely Museum. “Museum Tinguely.” Accessed March 9, 2026.
https://www.tinguely.ch/en.html
Wallach, Amei. “Recalling Robert Rauschenberg.” Smithsonian Magazine, May 18, 2008.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/recalling-robert-rauschenberg-49830834/
YouTube. Video. Accessed March 9, 2026.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r88iDgTd-M
YouTube. Video. Accessed March 9, 2026.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tvt-VSgPd4c
Location: Diriyah, Saudi Arabia
From This Earth Installation is a temporary installation by Karim+Elias in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. Completed in 2024, the 220 m² project was presented as part of Layali Diriyah and consists of a series of porous earthen screens assembled from more than 1,400 hand-sculpted spheres. Rather than treating earth as a heavy and continuous wall, the installation reimagines it as a modular, open-air spatial filter. In this sense, the project is significant not only as an installation, but also as a contemporary experiment in earthen material practice.
The project is deeply tied to its location. Diriyah is described by its official destination platform as the “City of Earth,” and it is presented as the birthplace of Saudi Arabia. Within this context, From This Earth operates as more than a temporary pavilion: it becomes a material response to a place historically associated with earthen building traditions. The architects state that the work celebrates Diriyah’s craft of building with earth, so the project should be understood as a contemporary reinterpretation of local architectural memory rather than as an abstract sculptural object placed in a neutral site.
Karim+Elias describe their broader practice as a contemporary exploration of “sculpting with sand,” using locally sourced earth, clay, and water in custom-made moulds. In From This Earth, this material approach appears through a system of over 1,400 hand-sculpted modular spheres made from local material and stacked into earthen screens. This construction logic is important because it shifts earth away from its more familiar role as a monolithic mass or thick wall. Here, earth becomes a repeated unit, a surface condition, and a space-making device. The project therefore demonstrates how traditional earth-based craft can be translated into a contemporary modular language.
The installation’s spatial effect comes from porosity. The stacked spherical modules create filtered views, partial enclosure, and changing patterns of light and shadow. Designlab Experience describes the screens as evoking the traditional mashrabiya and recalling Diriyah’s vernacular triangular wind openings and rooftop silhouettes. Because of this, the project does not simply represent earthen architecture visually; it performs some of its environmental and perceptual qualities. Air, light, depth, and visibility are mediated through the earthen surface, allowing visitors to experience earth not only as a material, but also as an atmospheric interface.
This project is relevant to contemporary earthen architecture because it expands the definition of what an earthen work can be. It does not reproduce a traditional mud structure directly, nor does it use earth only for symbolic effect. Instead, it repositions earthen craft within a temporary cultural installation and demonstrates that earth can function as a contemporary design medium. From This Earth shows that earthen practice today can move across architecture, installation, art, and public event design while still remaining grounded in local material and cultural context.
