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A commission won through the San Diego Port Authority’s call for temporary public art connecting conceptually with the native shoreline and activating the environment through motion, light, and sound.
Tides was to be a series of large-scale public concerts at the threshold between land and water — a site where nature and human structure press directly against each other. Formally dressed choral singers would fly sculptural kites carrying tuned wind chimes, improvising with bell note melodies driven by the tension and movement of the kite lines they controlled. Grounded in chance and the tradition of John Cage, no two concerts would have been alike — wind speed, selected chime notes, and environmental sound would have determined the composition as much as the performers.
The environment was not backdrop.
It was co-author. Sixteen black and white kites, capable of flying in winds from 5 to 20mph and carrying up to 2.5 pounds of tuned chimes, were designed and tested. The wind chime system allowed for adjustments in weight and tuning to accommodate changing weather conditions.
When the Port Authority cut its public arts budget in 2013, Tides was canceled along with several other artist contracts. The inquiry didn’t stop. When funding was reinstated in 2016, the project evolved into Time Strata.
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Special Thanks To:
Heads Up Kites
Miori and Daniel