2020
Animated narrative short film
University of Connecticut
Fall 2020, DMD4075–Senior Project
The student conceptualized, wrote, produced, and directed this narrative short for their Senior Project.
Brian House and Sue Huang
Double bass, municipal and public data, network
Variable dimensions
Freshkills Park Alliance, Staten Island, NY
Freshkills in Eight Movements is a sound/video installation that explores the relationship between human and environmental temporalities in a time of climate crisis. The project takes as its starting point New York City’s Freshkills, once known as Fresh Kills Landfill, the largest municipal dump in the world. Currently in the process of a decades-long transformation into a public park, Freshkills is a uniquely liminal space, where our long-term effects on the Earth are palpable.
The installation emerges from the multitemporal dynamics of this environment—the thousand-year decay of a Styrofoam cup, the multigenerational use of the land by humans, the seasonal cycle of the regenerating vegetation, and the gathering of clouds. Each of these temporal layers is translated into musical notation using municipal and public data, including statistical projections of weather patterns and methane and leachate emissions data from the Department of Sanitation.
The resulting eight scores are played by double bassist Robert Black (Bang on a Can All-Stars), whose performances are filmed and later projected onto a labyrinth of screens in an installation space. When heard simultaneously, these performances create a soundscape of data that coalesces multiple temporalities into one immersive experience.
(Work in progress)
Supported by The Robert Black Foundation and the Scholarship Facilitation Fund (UConn Office of the Vice President for Research). Additional funding support from Lewis & Clark College and the University of Connecticut.
Performer
Robert Black
Proof of Concept Producer
Mariel Villeré
Proof of Concept Cinematographer
Paul Shin
Proof of Concept Assistant Producer
David Feinberg
