Remember back in February when the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS), in conjunction with the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), put out a call for a composer and/or musician to be an Artist-in Residence in the 101-year-old Fremont Bridge's northwest tower? Well, they've chosen their person, and it's Paurl Walsh, an adventurous sound designer best known for his work in the avant-folk duo Medina/Walsh.
According to the ARTS blog, Walsh's proposal included "a desire to create a work that investigates the inherent collision between creative creativity and mental health, which resonated with the selection panel." In addition, Walsh will be tasked with thoroughly exploring "the historic bridge’s role and meaning for the city of Seattle and create music in response to this residency," according to the press release.
In Medina/Walsh, Walsh displays a refined approach to augmenting expansive, drone-based guitar meditations with electronic treatments. In Walsh's solo project Trying (judging from the one house party I saw him do), he creates unconventional techno that would nicely weird up any club that would book him. He has also worked in experimental performance art/music groups Degenerate Art Ensemble, Implied Violence, and Saint Genet, and composed music for dance and theater companies. Walsh will serve in this role from June through August. Some audio by Walsh and the full press release included below.
Scope of Work
Residency
Last year, the Fremont Bridge celebrated its 100th birthday. This coming summer 2018, a composer/musician will undertake an in-depth exploration of the historic bridge and respond to the experience with a sound-based project. The residency includes access to the northwest tower of the Fremont Bridge. Artists cannot live in the tower, but may use the space as a studio, a platform for observing the bridge and its surroundings, or as a base from which to interact with the community. Early in the residency, the artist will be asked to meet and discuss his/her approach to the residency project with staff from ARTS and SDOT. In consultation with staff, the artist will set studio hours and propose concepts for the musical project, its public presentation and documentation. The artist will be required to comply with a strict safety protocol while on the bridge, including communication with the bridge operator and restricted access to specific locations within the bridge. The artist residency will run from June through August 2018.Project, presentation, documentation
The residency will include an ongoing public component such as a blog or social media posts, in addition to community engagement events. The residency will culminate in a musical work and public presentation of the work produced while in residence. The sound piece shall represent or illuminate some aspect of the bridge and the bridge’s history, be it real or metaphorical. The artist will propose and implement public presentation(s) of the project through performance(s), public engagements, or other types of exhibition at locations and times to be determined in consultation with staff from ARTS and SDOT. While the artist retains the copyright, the sound piece shall be made available to the public digitally, residing on the ARTS website and potential other sites, depending on project partnerships. Where possible, ARTS staff will provide technical assistance, introductions to community resources, and other information as needed.Following a public presentation of the work, the artist will provide high-quality documentation of the project for inclusion in the Municipal Art Collection. Documentation could be in the form of a CD, video/DVD, artist’s book, print materials, select objects created/exhibited as part of the project, or other appropriate forms of documentation.
