Slave Pianos (Michael Stevenson, New Zealand/Germany b.1964; Danius Kesminas, Australia b.1966)
- Title
- Slave Pianos collectable: in memoriam George Maciunas
- Year
- 1999
- Media category
- Ephemera
- Materials used
- framed archive material
- Dimensions
-
155.0 x 106.0 x 6.0cm frame
- Signature & date
- Signed u.l. printed music sheet, red ink "Danius Kesminas" and u.c. printed music sheet, blue ink "Michael Stevenson". Not dated.
- Credit
- Purchased 2000
- Accession number
- 526.2000
- Location
- Not on display
- Further information
Stevenson and Kesminas are the two visual artists that initiated Slave Pianos, but Neil Kelly and Rohan Drape, two Melbourne musicians, are also integral to this project. Slave Pianos grew out of the artists' common interest in the history and practice of visual artists' music works. Stevenson and Kesminias have collected original recordings of music by artists as diverse as Hany Armanious and Joseph Beuys, which have been recomposed, arranged and transcribed as musical scores for piano. These are performed by the Slave Pianos itself - a computer controlled mechanical piano reproducing the arrangements of the artists' music. The Slave Pianos becomes a visual personification of the original artists' performance. Kelly and Drape transcribe the music and Stevenson and Kesminias are responsible for the artwork and publication of the scores and for other visual accompaniments.
- Exhibition history (1)
-
Slave Pianos, Darren Knight Gallery, Sydney, 06 Aug 1999–28 Aug 1999.
