Swoon isn’t just in New Orleans now for her installation at NOMA, she’s also been working on a crazy new outdoor project there. As we mentioned back in November, she has been working on constructing a musical sculpture that will be built in New Orleans. And yes, musical sculpture, that looks like a house. Visitors will be able to play the building. Kind of like David Byrne’s Playing the Building project, but with a Swoon vibe. I could write something about how a bunch of sound artists are going to be working on this or how local residents will be able to play the instrument, but you can read all of that here. Basically though, this is fantastical musical architecture, which sounds beautiful to me.
This project is being funded through Kickstarter, so Swoon and her crew are looking to raise $12,000 from members of the public over the next 20-some days. So far they have over $5,000 in pledges. Like most Kickstarter projects, a pledge to help fund Swoon’s sculpture comes with a variety of goodies from a handmade thank you card on old wallpaper to a stunning handpainted screenprint based on Swoon’s Ice Queen image (the one in her installation at Art in the Streets). This Kickstarter campaign won’t be funding the house itself, but a musical laboratory for sound artists to experiment and develop ideas for the eventual construction of this sculpture.
One thing that is missing from the work of too many street artists who also work in galleries is an element of whimsy. Well I think this project has a hell of a lot of whimsy. And what’s better than a boatload of whimsy?
You can pledge and learn more about this project over on Kickstarter.
Also, Swoon’s been getting up a bit while she’s been in New Orleans…
Photos by Charlotte Hamrick