Circumpliance: The Decomposition of the Piano

A Collaborative Art and Sound Installation

Created by Peter B. Kay and Kris Neely with Lynn Rhodes

Montgomery Music Building Courtyard, Wofford College

May 2014 – October 2014

Opening Reception:  Monday, May 12, 2014 from 5:30 – 7:30pm

Featured Artist Talk at 6:00pm with Dr. Peter B. Kay in Montgomery 119.

During the 2013-2014 academic year, Dr. Peter B. Kay served as an Artist-In-Residence at Wofford College. In collaboration with Kris Neely, Assistant Professor and Coordinator for Studio Art, Dr. Kay was asked to develop an installation that would alter the experience of a specific space using sound.  After exploring several sites and many concepts, Dr. Kay has created an original music composition entitled “Circumpliance.” Together with Wofford students and members of the community, Kay and Neely created sculptural elements using pieces of three decommissioned pianos. The pianos had been previously destined for a local landfill as they could no longer be tuned properly.

The sculpted piano parts and the 88 electronic music tracks of “Circumpliance” will shape the experience of the Montgomery Music Building Courtyard until October of 2014. Visiting the installation is free and open to the public. The installation is designed to be different each time a person visits. The music is engineered to evolve as the tracks are played in an interlaced randomized sequence over 6 months. Sometimes the listener may experience harmonies, at other times dissonance. The unprotected sculptural elements will be left exposed to the natural elements, weathering and decomposing as the installation progresses.

For more information, please contact Professor Kris Neely at neelykm@wofford.edu or (864) 597- 4609.