This past Saturday was the opening of PLAYING THE BUILDING: AN INSTALLATION BY DAVID BYRNE (presented by Creative Time) at the Battery Maritime Building. There was a long line at the opening and so, true to form, my friends and I headed straight for the FREE Grolsch beers (the big ones in the fancy glass bottle with the resealable metal apparatus thingy…) and FREE hot dogs in the hopes that the line would soon die down. While waiting in line my friend Megan spotted Byrne and opted for a quick snapshot with him in the background. Luckily he made his way toward us just as I snapped the shot below.
We finally made our way in to see the performance only because they extended the opening by an hour. David Byrne had unfortunately finished playing by that point and some random people were attempting to show off their ability to play the uncommon instrument that is a building. The installation consisted of an organ wired to various mechanisms mounted throughout the structure of the building that either tapped, vibrated or blew wind to create an interactive composition of sound within the space.
I recommend you go see the the installation yourself:
May 31, 2008 – August 10, 2008
Monday through Friday 12 to 6
> info at david byrne’s web page
> some info here on the recent renovation of the Battery Maritime Building
