Basic Setup
The musical performance component creates a situation where the performer must listen and adapt. There piece has two main physical elements, two performers at opposite edges of the park and a central monolith is positioned between them. The monolith has two speakers each facing a performer. The sounds from the monolith are recordings of the monoboard instrument which are played back in a semi determinate fashion. The performers each have an amplifier which projects sound from a single string monoboard instrument. The monoboard uses a guitar string, pickup, tuning key and ebow (electric bow which actuates/bows the string with a magnet). Each performer can hear the monolith but will likely not hear each other. Each position in the listening space is a unique blend and the path of the listener through this evolving soundfield is unique in sonic character and redundant in physical trajectory.
Monolith Sound Organzation
The monolith uses six tones to generate a 26 minute performative arc. The six tones are taken from recordings of six of the Shi'de ceramic decorations. The ceramic pieces were struck with a mallet and recorded. Each recording was then reversed and mated with a butt splice to itself. In this way, the ceramic tone begins in silence and gets louder and then at the loudest point begins getting quieter until it returns to nothing. Some basic audio editing techniques were used to clean up each recording. These recordings were then played back and the monoboard is used to imitate each tone. The ceramic tones are very harmonically complex and the string is much simpler, so three recordings of the monoboard are layered in order to capture the spectral complexity of the ceramic tones. Once the six monoboard tones are created (each between 40 and 76 seconds) they are used as the material for the generative component.
The order of monoboard tones is organized by software which plays them back with a simple pattern. As described, there are six tones, label 1 - 6. There are nine sections to the entire piece. The first section plays back tones 1 & 2 in a random ordering. Section two plays back tones 1,2 & 3 in a random order. Section three is 1-4, section four is 1-5 and section five is 1-6. Then the pattern is reversed so section six is 1-5, section seven is 1-4, section eight is 1-3 and the piece ends with section nine 1 & 2. This playback of the audiofiles can be considered a stream of audio. The full composition uses three streams and because local events are choosen randomly and the begining of the streams is staggered, the sounding tones are different with each performance. In order to simplify the performance setup, we prerecorded multiple takes of this audio material and then use the random function of the audioplayer to determine which one is presented in the performance. This organizational strategy means that each time the piece is performed, the performer does not know what local events/notes/tones will be heard and therefore they must listen and adjust what they ar doing. Of course, there are only six notes so while there is randomness, there is also a great deal of predictability.
Performance Instructions
The performers listen to the given sound mass from the monolith and before making a tone, randomly adjust the tuning key on the monoboard in order choose a starting position. Then the performer slowly brings in their tone and adjusts their tone to create an "intersting relationship" to the sounding mass. The monoboard tone may be adjusted very slowly, so as not be overtly observable, but rather so that it slides into an agreeable relationship with the sounding mass. These relatively inaudible microadjustments to the pitch of the monoboard tone are meant to adjust the beating pattern of the sounding material and should not be perceived as a change in pitch of the string. The beating pattern is the rhythmic pulsation which is created by the interference of two adjacent tones, it can be desribed as a the tone going "wah wah wah".
The pacing is realted to the breathing of the performer and the rate of a breath cycle should be informed by listening to the monolith material. The monoboard performer controls the rate at which a tone fades in or out as well as the overall length. The live performance component can work both in conjunction with as well as in opposition to the sounding material of the monolith. The performance will unfold and it is up to the performer to listen to all of the sounding materail, including the environemntal, internal and musical material and to use the single string of the monoboard to describe a trajectory.
The main decorations for this project are tree enclosures (Shimenawa and Shi'de) and the Haraegushi flag which are inspired by those used in Japanese Shinto rituals.
Shimenawa, the sacred braids are used to cordon off areas of purity or significance, where heavenly and earthly worlds meet. Shi'de, a zigzag-shaped paper streamers are often seen attached to Shimenawa. A Shimenawa and Shi'de bundle can be found wrapped around statues, legendary trees, rocks and anything thought to be inhabited by god-like beings called kami.
In Boulware park, there are three big coastal redwood clusters on the open lawn space. They are the "Kami's" in the park that have protected local people for a long time. In the early dawn, the stately redwoods appear mighty and the cool temperature and the morning dew creates a spiritual aura about these trees. To magnify this spiritual image, the trees are adorned with hemp ropes to create Shimenawa and handmade ceramic Shi'de. The Shi'de are made of several different clays, slips and white glaze to create explore the diverserse imagrey and spirit of each redwood cluster. The clay features a negative image cast of the redwood leaves. These works were fired at the Palo Alto Art Center.
Another way to use Shi'de is as an element of the Haraegushi, or "lightning wand", named for the zig-zag Shi'de paper that adorns the wooden wand. A Shinto priest waves the Haraegushi over a person, item, or newly bought property, such as a building or a car to bring good luck. We created a tall bamboo Haraegushi at the starting point to echo the imagrey of the Shimenawa and to welcome you to the event.
The pathway through the open field is sparyed on the grass with a nontoxic paint which will wash away with water. The markings are painted in oblique motion to the progress of the participant and the by being of a line of similar length to the person in front of you, social distancing is ensured. It is not simply six feet apart, but it is subdivided to create better resolution and to provide a simple visual pattern that echoes the material of the sonic components of the work. The path is presented in such a way so as not to limit where one goes, but rather to suggest where one might proceed. Each element of this entire work uses materials that are related to the space and which are simple on the surface. Of course, the lines are painted on a lawn and each inch of this wide green space is a rich visual tapestry that is profoundly unique. This presentation strives to create a space for the contemplation of these visual moments and to do so with the six foot spacing not as a constraint, but rather an opportunity for how one can structure a path through a sonic field.