Author: Katherine

The project I have chosen was created by a fellow cmu student a few years ago. She composed a musical piece that was performed by an ensemble, but the composition was not like a typical music piece. Her medium involved a tub of water and multiple colors of ink. The ink was dropped by the composer into the water and projected onto a screen for the ensemble to read. The musicians used the projected image as their score, improvising tone and dynamics to match what they saw. I admire this project for the unique use of improvisation and unconventional style of music notation. Throughout history, artists have tried to notate their scores in exquisite detail so as to allow for replication. I like how this art piece goes in the complete opposite direction; it would be impossible to replicate the performance, no matter how clear the directions are given. The project was just one part of a larger art exhibit put together by a few cmu classes with the guidance of their professors. Creating this project required an ensemble of musicians, and the unique projection setup for the ink and water. The goal of the project was to think outside the box of traditional music performance and composition, and I believe the project achieved this goal. The experimental nature of this piece is exciting and visually appealing, adding a new layer to the music.

website: Subsurface: Site-Specific Sight and Sound 2018, Shambhavi Mishra