Deconstruction of a system.
A musical instrument is a system. Every system has a development history. If an instrument is to be playable by everyone, agreements must be made.
This development history, reaching the agreements necessary to achieve perfection, can sometimes take centuries. But there can also be important achievements during the development. The search for beauty in sound and composition, like-minded people finding each other while learning to play, or during performances, the tuning of the instrument that is needed before the beauty becomes audible. The same rituals that must be performed each time that the instrument is to be played.
The player of this instrument knows the rules, trained, after much practice our feelings are interpreted by the fingers that touch the instrument in a virtuoso way. The history, the construction of the instrument, the finger exercises, the tuning of the instrument, the excitement of the audience beforehand, the walk to the concert hall, taking a seat, the silence beforehand…….all part of a system of civilization and beauty. Until it is demolished, or even set on fire.
1/ Piano activities. 00:06:20
Except performance Fluxus 50 Museum Wiesbaden 2012.
With: Alison Knowles, Eric Andersen, Willem de Ridder, Philip Corner, Geoffrey
Hendricks and Benjamin Patterson.
2/ Deconstruction of a piano 00:35:15
Zhanna Gladko, 2015
3/ Burning of a piano 00:17:21
Piano Burning Annea Lockwood, 1968 performed by clipping. 2019 sound recorded by clipping. and Christopher Fleeger filmed by Cristina Bercovitz and Christopher Cichocki edited by Christopher Fleeger color by Cristina Bercovitz.
