Do you remember the sound of your parents’ basement? The drone of the dehumidifier, the steady whir of the dryer, the hollow thump made by Uncle Kent’s college trunk? Dan Steinhilber does. Marlin Underground, his installation on the lower level of the Kreeger Museum in Washing?ton, DC, (on view until December 29) consists of an ensemble of assisted readymades, given voice through wired circuitry that attaches them to a computerized control center. The title evokes the type of college garage band in which Steinhilber played while also referring to a fish trophy—just one of dozens of objects unearthed in the Kreeger storerooms.


Untitled, 2006–08. Styrofoam packing peanuts, floor fans, and electronic components, dimensions variable.