This is a dance piece, a choreographed series of activities determined by the actions of my body. The video documents the performance. My studio is outside; this room is only a theater. Leisure time is studio time, and practice is the final product.
I had been exploiting Governors Island’s transition from a military establishment to a destination for arts experimentation. I focused on animating the island’s musical memory by playing instruments in various places. Historically I was interested in the School of Music Practice that was housed in the South Battery in the 1800s and later moved to Fort Jay that taught 12-15 year-old boys to play the bugle, drums, and fife for military engagement. For this project I spent most of my time outdoors doing things I enjoyed at that age: reading, playing the saxophone and playing soccer. The challenge was to turn these activities into an artwork. Soccer could help train my lungs for wind instruments. I could freely interpret the bugle calls. Beating a soccer ball against the moat wall or in the gunpowder and ammunition magazine became a percussive event familiar to the architecture. The magazine is also a dynamic bunker to play instruments in.