The Artist Also Plays
Between pieces, the studio becomes a concert hall. On the Olliebel sound: three drum hits, one long piano chord, and the state of music at age two.
The studio is not quiet. Between drawings, it is a concert hall.
The resident artist also plays — piano, mostly by the handful; a xylophone that has never once been asked to play in tune and rises to the occasion anyway; and percussion, which is to say anything in the room that can be struck, shaken, or dropped in rhythm. Recent performances include three drum hits and a pause for juice, and one long piano chord held until the audience (two adults, one stuffed rabbit) agreed it was finished.
We keep these recordings the way we keep the drawings: dated, catalogued, unedited. Because the music has the same quality as the line — it is made once, at one age, and never made again.
Soon, gallery pieces will carry a small invitation: hear the artist. Scan the gallery card and listen to what the studio sounded like the week the piece was made. The art you can hang. The sound is just for remembering.