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the illuminated corridor a collision of public
art, live music and film |
works in progress middle harbor shoreline park cheryl e. leonard and supported by the Cheryl and Rebecca have been collaborating on installations and compositions based on aspects of tidal flows in estuaries (water patterns and cycles, the dynamic equilibrium of environments in flux, and how life adapts to these changing conditions, and more), After performances and installations at NWEAMO International Festival of Electro-acoustic Music and Hunter’s Point Open Studios, the team is turning its attention to the tidal wetlands of Middle Harbor, where habitat restoration efforts are underway to support a thriving and diverse bird and wildlife community. They are developing a suite of drawings, sculpture, music and video inspired by Middle Harbor Shoreline Park. Both artists will draw inspriation from organic features in the park their artwork. Rebecca and Cheryl will develop works that embody tidal elements, such as cycles, rhythms, graduated change, and fluid dynamics, in both formal structures and creative processes. The intent is to inspire interest in our local estuary by using music and visual art to evoke new awareness and questions about this little-known but essential ecosystem. The artists will also dialogue with neighborhood residents and groups involved in habitat restoration at the park, and seek out ways to involve them in the development and presentation of this project. Rebecca will experiment with estuarine phenomena, such as dispersion and sedimentation, pooling and evaporation, and with a hands-off approach will allow the materials to create the shapes and marks. Sand be used as a sedimentary material to create rhythmic patterns on translucent Mylar. Light projected onto this surface will create shadows. Using materials such as stones, driftwood, and other flotsam, she will create mobile sculpture, including pendulums, within the observation tower. A pendulum reflects the cycles of the moon, which drives the tides. It also suggests a broader metaphor for cyclic time. Video images of the local tides will be projected through the hanging sculpture, creating moving shadows within the projection. The work will be viewable from several angles, inviting different images to emerge. There will be a tactile, movable component to invite the viewer to interact with and influence the action of the sculpture. Cheryl’s music focuses on exploring and expressing wild realms and processes, and the human relationship within them. For this project she will cultivate amplified natural materials such as water, sand, mud, rocks, wood, feathers and shells as instruments. These materials will be played “as is” and also assembled into more complex sound-generating apparati. She will write a series of compositions designed to be performed live on these instruments by a small ensemble. The music will incorporate field recordings from above and below water in the park’s salt marsh restoration area. Cheryl will work extensively with very quiet phenomena, using microphones to reveal the surprising voices and subtle aural intricacies contained in the estuary’s natural objects and habitats. Other than amplification, no other electronic effects will be employed. Designs for musical instruments, playing methods, and musical structures will be generated from aspects of estuarine tidal patterns, motions and processes. Both instruments and the live performance as a whole will be designed to be visually, as well as aurally, engaging, and to integrate with the environment created by Rebecca’s artwork. |
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