Bellowing Sun
Museum of Contemporary Art and Mind Over Mirrors
Performance Piece
Concept:
This project was a week-long run of musical performances at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago featuring Mind Over Mirrors. The band was set up under a large rotating set piece with external and internal lighting elements.
My Role
I was hired by the museumm to help install the first workshop of this piece, and was brought back on for the second workshop and performance. Leading a small crew, I collaborated with the band, lighting designer, sound engineer, and scenic engineer to fit the show to the museum's space. This included assembling and installing the scenery, constructing structures to mount lighting equipment on, rigging sound gear, assembling staging deck, and rigging curtains. After the installation, I remained with the team during the rehearsal and performance process to execute changes made by the band and design team.
Scenic Assembly
The large scenic element (referred to as the zoetrope) is loop of painted fabric stretched over an aluminum frame. There is a motor block attached to the rigging grid which attaches to the zoetrope with structural pipe. Inside the zoetrope, a seperate sturcutre is dropped in with pipe which allows for lighting gear to be mounted to the inside of the zoetrope, providing light from within.
Credits
Artistic Director: Jamie Fennelly
Stage and Visual Concept: Timothy Breen and Jamie Fennelly
Motor and Metal Fabrication: Eliot Irwin
Lighting Design: Keith Parham
Producers: David Ravel and Jamie Fennelly
Challenges
This installation had a lot of moving parts in close proximity, so positional precision was key to making this project succeed, as an error of just a couple inches could cause damage to both the lighting and scenic equipment. Additionally, once the fabric was installed over the zoetrope structure, the interior became inaccessible, so it was important to get the lighting install right the first time. I worked with the design team to create documentation for future installations.
The two workshops preceding the performances allowed the design team the time they needed to experiment with ideas in the space. As a result, the installation changed often during this process. I made sure to keep materials and labor readily available for changes, and advised the team on the capabilities of the space and the resources the museum had to offer.
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