VIRGINIA B. FAIRBANKS ART & NATURE PARK OPENING
The Kinetic Project founders, Philip Beck and Michael Kaufmann, worked with the Indianapolis Museum of Art to curate the music and performance for the opening of the Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park (100 Acres). They approached curation of this project with three objectives in mind: (i) aesthetic compatibility, (ii) magical undertones, and (iii) historical precedent.
Considering aesthetic compatibility, The Kinetic Project worked to create programming that was consistent with the goals of the opening event while honoring the purpose of the park. They curated musical experiences to enhance the spirit of the park while working to avoid conflicting, competing or distracting elements which might possibly draw attention away from the park and its installations. For the park's inaugural event musical subtlety was utilized to allow for visitors to fully interact with the built environment. The goal was to create magical undertones. Musicians inhabited performance microcosms in which the individual performances were allowed to enhance the natural environment. The programming also sought to create a historical precedent for future curation for the park through site-based commissions.
Performances included a site-based commission of a musical triptych by Shara Worden, Dayna Kurtz, and Liz Janes. The three musicians performed additional solo sets throughout the night. Roberto Lange performed under both his Epstein moniker in the Marlon Blackwell's Ruth Lilly Visitor's Pavilion and as Helado Negro on the main stage. Jordan Munson created a site-based electronic composition for the Visitor's Pavilion. Butler University's Outside Orchestra and artists Kipp Normand and Elyce Elder created minimalist immersive sound environments throughout the wooded pathways. Arrington de Dionyso performed experimental vocal and bass clarinet improvisations in the tunnel of Alfredo Jaar's Park of Laments and on Kendall Buster's Stratum Pier.
Date: June 2010
Collaborators: Michael Kaufmann and Philip Beck