Coffeewalk | henrykunkelart

CoffeeWalk: A piece for Two Sets of Hands

Work Description

Coffee Walk: a piece for two sets of hands is a piece to illustrate the foreboding feelings of stasis that is part of the human condition. Through grave comic reprieve it seeks to capture the absurd continuity of existing in obligatory social roles where mechanical repetition does not equate to progress.

Coffee Walk: a piece for two sets of hands sonically, is a sound organization performance of process and intention. What seems like the sporadic movements of two baristas amplified, is actually a score that is performed to a stopwatch, where every gesture is calculated. The piece consists of three main sound sources: coffee brewing equipment, a boombox, and a prepared guitar. The coffee brewing sound source ranges from multiple types of coffee brewing devices, to electric burners, to the pattering of spoons and beans. Using the coffee brewing process as determination for each section of the piece, each tool is used as inspiration to be played rhythmically throughout, for both music and process. Intermittently the second source is quick excerpts of “Vesti La Giubba” from Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci from a boombox. Appearing as more sound than music to the fray, it goes on to disrupt the flow of work and noise. The third is the prepared guitar, sounding a dissonant chord that fades in and out giving the only sense of something wholly musical. This grounds the listener throughout the experience as an entering, returning point, and as an ending to the piece.

Collaborative Artist Statement with Alessandro Maione

Art is meant to engage the senses. A painter engages the eyes, a composer engages the ears.

As a collaboration between a sound artist and a visual artist we are interested in exploring the various languages that can bridge these mediums and senses. Our mission is to empower ourselves and our audience to understand that art is all around us and a change in perspective can alter how we experience. We structure graphic scores with a balance between open interpretation and concise direction to allow anyone the ability to perform the piece.

Our collaboration is project based. We focus on different concepts and methods and change our approach depending on each project. Our past works have taken us in fun and thoughtful directions. Our first piece, Music for Mischief began by studying the cicada and creating a score that combines references to Sir Issac Newton's color theory, Scriabin’s prometheus poem of fire, and gamelan music to talk to the cyclical relationship of a cicada's life cycle. Our Second Piece, Coffeewalk: A piece for two sets of hands developed from a shared love of coffee and is inspired by John Cage’s Waterwalk. The piece consists of three main sound sources: coffee brewing equipment, a boombox, and a prepared guitar and follows a score that is timed to the second of a stopwatch.