Sound artist Chris Kallmyer is inspired by the rhythm of baseball, the mindful practice of playing catch, and the sounds of field maintenance. For his 2014 Open Field residency, he explores baseball on the domestic level—the way it ties generations, its unchanging presence in the American household for more than a century, and the way the game invites play on a warm summer night. Over a period of two weeks, Kallmyer will create a series of baseball-inspired scores that include mobile organ performances, daily groundskeeping of a baseline, and playing catch as a musical pursuit. Join the artist on Open Field for a week of sonic events that tie together baseball and sound.
Live Action Groundskeeping
Tuesday, July 8, 9 am–3 pm: creating the line
July 9–17: daily maintenance + play
Kallmyer and a team of assembled artists and baseball enthusiasts will mindfully create and maintain a 40-foot baseline on Open Field. The line will be cared for during the duration of the residency, mowed and chalked daily. The space will serve as a score, accompanied by a pair of gloves and a ball to be used anytime by the public.
Incidental Organ Performances
July 10–17, open duration and location
Kallmyer will perform a series of site-specific works for organ and trumpet in and around the Walker campus. In addition, special guest Saint Paul Saints organist Andrew Crowley will perform on-site at 12 noon on Friday, July 11.
Play Catch, All Together
Thursday, July 17, 7 pm
Grab your baseball glove* and join Kallmyer and Twins organist Sue Nelson for a work focused on the sound of people playing catch alongside a baseball stadium organ. Participants are invited to oil their gloves, do some light stretching, and throw around a lemon as warm-up—an homage to Fluxus artist Ken Friedman. Afterwards, have freshly-squeezed lemonade, meet Nelson, and take home a copy of Kallmyer’s score for Play Catch, All Together.
*BYO glove; balls provided.
About the Artist
Chris Kallmyer has composed electronic music using cheese, car horns, sheep, and lawnmowers as seen in his performance of the American lawn and ways to cut it on Open Field as part of Machine Project’s Summer Jubilee in 2011. Kallmyer’s work sits on the fringes of music and contemporary art, often engaging sound through touch, taste, participation, and process. He has presented work at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, the Hammer Museum, the Getty Center, REDCAT, Machine Project, and other spaces in America and Europe. Kallmyer works with Machine Project and is a member of wild Up. He earned his MFA in music from the California Institute of the Arts and holds a BA in trumpet performance from St. Mary’s College of Maryland. In fall 2013, he was the first visiting artist at the Magdalena Ridge Observatory in central New Mexico.
