Yesterday, Asa and I went to see David Byrne’s installation, Playing the Building.
From the descriptions I had read, I had the idea that parts of the installation were going to be spread throughout the entire building, and as you walked around, you could only hear a portion of all the sounds at any given time. In actuality, the entire installation is contained within one large room and you can hear all the sounds being made simultaneously.
Walking around the space, you can look at how all the sound makers are rigged up. I loved the exposed pipes that had been given flute holes. The air that went over the holes to make the sound is released directly from the organ. If you look in the picture, the light blue wires are not actually wires, but air tubes. Details like that made the installation have a very analog-physical feel. I’m not sure if there were any computers involved in the space at all.
You control the sounds by playing the keyboard of a converted organ. I made the mistake of playing the keyboard with Asa, so we each only had half the keyboard available to us. I think for the full experience, doing it solo is a better idea. It hardly mattered though, because listening to the sounds was just as satisfying as making them.
The installation is limited to a handful of different kinds of sounds, and so even with different playing styles, the music always sounded similar. This limitation is very considered; the selected sounds are in complete harmony with the building. I got the sense that David Byrne had such a strong connection with the building that he let it tell him what sounds it wanted to make. The entire execution of this piece is flawless. I can’t think of any way that this piece could have been better.
After we left, Asa and I had an amazing rest-of-the-day. Thanks to everyone involved in this project. Thanks to soft-serve ice cream.
