//lanterns//

I've completely changed my project idea! Now, I'm planning to make a bunch of lanterns out of foraged materials (twigs and branches) and either sheet music (from ancient falling-apart books) or newspapers. So far, sheet music has been a little challenging to work with because it's pretty thick and resists being molded into shapes, but I would really prefer to stick with sheet music as opposed to newspaper if possible because I love the idea of cutting, ripping, destroying, reimagining the sheet music that is so sacred to classical performers.

In classical music, the composer's will is treated as absolute - the performer is expected to follow every expressive marking to the letter, it's unheard of to add or remove notes. The conventions of musical practice, at least in the piano department here, place all the importance on the composer's vision and give the pianist little autonomy to say anything new through playing the notes on the page. Even though I've barely begun working on my lanterns, it's been so fun and sacrilegious and freeing to tear pages out of this Mendelssohn book and rip them into little bits. (I haven't been able to bring myself to tear up a newer book that isn't already falling apart at the seams, but maybe in the future...)

There are two good options I can see for locations for my new project: one is Harper Hall, where most piano recitals happen, which comes with a lot of that composer-performer tension for me. I think it could be really significant to take my torn up sheet music lanterns into that space and arrange them around and inside of the piano, taking some of the power back from weird classical music hierarchies. The other is a spot down by the river behind Warch, a sort of grove with flat rocks that are nice to sit on. There are lots of nice trees to hang lanterns from, and bigger lanterns could rest on the ground against the trees. 

Conceptually, the options: take torn up sheet music into a space that worships sheet music, making a statement in relation to the space; or take torn up sheet music into a space where it holds no power, decentering the material itself. Both seem great. Maybe I'll do both, if weather permits and Harper is available! Harper would have to be a brief installation, only an hour or two, whereas the grove could be a full night or even several nights. There is some Harper availability on the Monday of Week 10 so a short installation is definitely doable. 

My hope for this installation is to create a magical little pocket of space that feels a little folky, a little arcane, a little otherworldly, but in a way that invites people to really sink into the space and experience it for a good chunk of time. I'll rely on sound to help me create those vibes - I have a few minimalist things, including one that's kind of hymn-like, that could work wonderfully along with the lanterns.

A panel I made out of foraged twigs, embroidery thread, an electric candle, and a page from Songs Without Words. I might try glowsticks as a light source instead of candles. The light is barely coming through the paper at all, so I'll either have to pick a different book with thinner pages or switch to newsprint. Newsprint would also be super cool, though, because that would bring up issues like the importance of journalism to investigate and enlighten.

The very old, falling apart book of music I experimented with this week, and some larger branches I want to play with as well.

A really rough sketch of the foresty location with sheet music lanterns along the ground and hanging from trees. Alternatively, a tiny sketch of lanterns underneath and inside of a grand piano. The weird cloud is a sketch of how I might try to rip up and layer sheets of Songs Without Words, or newsprint if I can get my hands on any, to make bigger surfaces for bigger lanterns.