whizdumb

Playing the building

I'm a long time fan of David Byrne's art and music so I was thrilled to go see his new art installation called Playing the Building.

He hooked an old organ up to the beams, pipes and columns of the Battery Maritime Building which lets you literally play the building.  The keyboard is divided up into three sections which correspond to the types of triggers: solenoids which are basically hammers that strike metal; flutes which blow air past holes drilled in pipes; and motors which vibrate beams. 

The building has had several lives. It used to be the place people waited to board the ferry to Brooklyn before the ferry was discontinued in 1938.  You can see its restored Beaux-Arts grandeur on the outside and if you really look carefully on the inside there are cues to its better days.  And there is evidence of more recent uses such as the faded basketball court lines on the floor.

I didn't record any sound but you can hear some in the videos on David Byrne's site.

I put some some photos from my visit in a flickr set.  Enjoy.

The exhibit lasts until August 24, 2008.

The Art of Idea Preservation

Awhile back I went to see Alex Bogusky speak as part of the launch of the New Denver Ad Club.  One thing that I found interesting was when he referenced the progression of the Truth vs. the Miller Lite campaigns. 

He encouraged tolerance in evolving a campaign over time.  Referring to a Miller client he said something to the effect of, "when a creative approach is not working perfectly to their liking, some feel the need to put a bullet in it, rather than learn from it and evolve the approach."

That thought came back to me today as I was perusing blogs on architecture.  In my wandering I found an interesting little flash video on a site dedicated to art of preservation, specifically an effort to save the 1960 Blue Cross building in Boston.  The group espouses the many creative ways the aging building can be preserved - rather than demolished.

Specifically, they pose some interesting What If questions about preserving buildings that can clearly apply to other things:

What if we considered the degrees of preservation between ALL and NOTHING?

What if we thought of preservation through the ideas of artist Gordon Matta-Clark?
What if we thought of preservation through the act of demolition?
What if we integrated a building into new development?
What if we expressed a buildings ideas and concepts through anatomical exhibition?
What if we re-inhabited a building by dissecting it?
What if we treated a building as public art?
What if we distribute remnants of a building to plazas and museums?
What if we move the building from its site?

Could we use degrees of preservation to educate?
Could we better heighten awareness of a building's original value in an altered state?
Could we increase the perceived value of design in the public consciousness?
Could we preserve our cultural heritage while embracing our future?

I think there's a lot we marketers can learn from architecture.  And maybe this can help open the doors for asymmetrical ways to rethink a flagging campaign, rather than running to the nearest phone to summon the wrecking ball.