SONGS : 1. SKY/SEA/SAND, 2. SKY/ICE PLANT/GRASS (DETAIL), 1973
COLOR PHOTOGRAPHS, CHALK, PENCIL, TEXT
3.5 X 5 INCHES EACH
VARIABLE INSTALLATION SIZE

1. Sky/Sea/Sand
2. Sky/Ice Plant/Grass

JOHN BALDESSARI

Original Plan: To use certain geographical areas as visual surrogates for music staffs.

For example, one of the areas chosen was a frontal view of the ocean at the beach. Such a view was chosen in that it would easily subdivide into three zones, in this case sky, ocean, sand, and for the purpose of this piece, high, middle and low (in the sense of a musical register). Next, a person was given a simple red ball, (the musical note) and was asked to throw it high into the air (against the ocean background). With each throw, the person was asked simultaneously to shout “high”, “middle” or “low”. This notation would be the evidence of a secret melody being composed by that person.

The job of the cameraman was to freeze the ball/note in the proper zone that was called out with each throw. The melody would be limited to the number of frames in a roll of film, or multiples of that number. Thus 36, or 2 x 36, etc. The resulting photographs would then be numbered in the sequence in which they were taken, and situated on the three-line staff in its proper location.

The problems: Of course chance enters in here. A perfect answer to that problem would be the image of the ball appearing in each photo in its proper zone. This photo then would be placed on its proper line, with the line intersecting the ball. There is a small element of time entering into this musical piece in that the ball would not often be centered in the photo but would be skewed to the right or left.

So a longer note could be a photo where the ball was skewed to the left. All of the successful shots (or proper notes) are marked with a red (x). A missing photo, so noted on a blank white card and located below the staff. Photo-processor error. Duplicate photos of the same shot. Photo-processor error. The extra photos located below staff. Ball in wrong zone. The photo is located on its proper staff line, the staff line aligned with the zone boundary line; the zone falling below the staff line. These shots are bracketed.

No ball appearing in photo. The photo is located on its proper staff line, its bottom edge aligned. These shots are circled. Split zone. In these photos where the shot is clearly not of one zone, the photo is placed in the category of that zone the photo indicates by more than fifty percent. Perhaps all the problem shots can be seen as missing notes, wrong notes and similar drop-out.

Baldessari, John. Sourced from www.htvdeijsberg.nl/80-toonbeeld/john-baldessari/