So.I got there three minutes late and watched the performance. There about 40-50 people
there and he was on the other side of the ropes, touching his fragile looking machines. It was a wonderful sight, maybe because I was so glad to be there with all the arty people. He tuned and played with his toys. One the magnetic metal table
he flicked a switch, approached the table and threw two nails on it. It made the people in front of him jump backwards. The table quickly snagged the nails and the pointed side of the nails rotated, following the perfect circle track marks already visible on the table. Way way better than what I saw yesterday. He kept moving from one machine to the other and back again. It did not feel rehearsed but I’m sure it was. Why? Well . Yesterday Ray Lees machines were in complete darkness but each machine started randomly (I first thought). Switching themselves on at different times so when it all goes dark you would not know which machine would start first. Today Ray Lee was working/ playing on the machines and he knew which one would play next. He then switched them off when he was ready.
When he got to the Sirens he adjusted what he needed to and the Sirens span with the noise level increasing. I noticed that every individual Siren had its own distinctive noise (one was a car horn). He played on the sirens for ages. I was a bit worried for him because they span so fast and his head was so close to them.
There was this odd looking machine in the centre of the Sirens and it had a rod on either side . He switched it on and started to do some very precise hand movements, adjusting what he needed to on the machine at the same time. He moved closer and further away from the metal rods, the closer he became the higher the pitch and vise versa. He went on for a while, making random noises. It got boring and people started moving. Then a violin started playing in an oriental theme. His hands were trembling, his eyes were closed tightly, he was really focused. It was so beautiful, almost romantic. The Sirens unexpectedly started again, whether it was planned or not the invisible violin and Sirens were perfect . Another sound was also there, it sounded like a dinosaur snoring with its mouth closed, a heavy base.
He stopped playing with the invisible violin. The Sirens kept going for another 30 seconds, he stood there watching the Sirens like he was part of the audience and one by one they stopped. The car horn sound being the last to stop. And you wouldn’t believe it but I was the one that started the clapping. YEAH!
I noticed a guy with a video camera, I walked over and asked him if he could make me a copy of the tape and we exchanged details. His name was Peter and he just happened to work in the museum. We got in a little conversation, he said the video is originally for the Museum but he could make me a copy by JUNE. I know, so long! I noticed that Ray Lee was finally free from conversations so I went over , I don’t know why but I was a bit star struck, I went all giddy and giggling and smiling like an idiot. I told him his performance was great and said I came the previous day. He asked me what I thought of it yesterday before his performance. I said it was very interesting but I was disappointed because of the lack of information about the pieces. He said “Right!” and I said it was worth coming today. I asked him how long one piece took him to complete and he said he had been working on them all for many years. I asked him if he had used codes to activate the sensors, making them play a certain pitch when something moved. He said it was all mechanical, no codes and said some other technical jargon I didn’t understand. I was so happy, I couldn’t believe the information I got. Then I just had to ask if he would like to take a picture with me and he said……………..
How awful do I look.
I was then asked to go to Kinetica this Saturday to help take down Jim Bond’s and Ray Lee’s exhibitions. A chance to get to know the artists and see how their work is put together. Can you believe that?
All I’m waiting for now is the copy of the video.
