June 2, 2008
Byrne Gets the Battery Maritime Building Played
Over the weekend David Byrne's Playing the Building installation opened, ostensibly making the Battery Maritime Building the city's largest instrument. The weekend boasted some long lines for those who wanted to get their fingers on the ivories -- unless of course you were Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson, who strolled to the front Saturday to take their turn. The retrofitted organ and all of its pneumatic tubes will be there every weekend through August 10th, from 12 to 6 p.m.
More info on Playing the Building can be found at Byrne's journal and also at Creative Time. Read an interview with curator Anne Pasternak and David Byrne, here; Byrne says of the project: "This piece makes the act of 'careful listening' incredibly easy. There’s almost no effort involved except going to the space. One doesn’t have the same experience when reading a description of it—one has to be physically present to really listen."
Some video from the weekend opening after the jump.
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I'm sorry, but this is lame.
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it was totally cool
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Yawn.
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What if you don't know how to play the piano?
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A better use of the space and idea would've been to throw a Steinway in there and allow 2-min shots at the piano. This thing isn't even remotely close to music - a waste of an organ keyboard.