2008 Summer Arts Preview

Playing the Building: An Installation by David Byrne

The Battery Maritime Building — New York
May 31 – Aug. 10

David Byrne has always been just weird enough to keep fans engaged without tipping over into Michael Jackson territory. (There’s still time.) His weirdness is wrapped in a facade of ultra-straightness (or vice versa) — he's so square he makes the rest of us look bizarrely rounded. At the end of May, he's turning a downtown New York City building into an interactive musical installation. Assorted devices have been added to standard elements of the building (pipes, pillars and the like) that will enable them to make sound, either by the wind or through vibration or because they are being struck. It sounds like it could be fun and interesting or pretentious hooey — hopefully you have a high tolerance for both. How many times will we hear people trying to tap out "Once in a Lifetime?"