''Playing the Building'' was an art installation by

David Byrne David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...

, ex singer of

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...

, and Färgfabriken, an independent art venue in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. It originally ran from October 8 to November 13, 2005, at Färgfabriken. The concept would later be realized in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in the Battery Maritime Building in 2008 (May 31 to August 10), in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

The Roundhouse The Roundhouse is a performing arts and concert venue situated at the Grade II* listed former railway engine shed in Chalk Farm, London, England. The building was erected in 1846–1847 by the London & North Western Railway as a roundhouse, ...

in 2009 (August 8 to 31), and in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

at the Aria building in the

Minneapolis Warehouse Historic District The North Loop, also commonly called The Warehouse District, is a neighborhood of the Central community of Minneapolis, Minnesota that was Minneapolis's main commercial district during the city's years as a midwestern shipping hub. Although on ...

in 2012 (November 5 to December 4). The concept entailed utilizing the infrastructure of these buildings and spaces as resonating bodies to create sounds. Different methods are used to produce the sounds, including hitting columns with metal rods, strapping vibrating motors to girders, and blowing air through pipes. The sounds often resemble musical instruments, including

organs In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to act together in a fu ...

and flutes.

References

External links

Playing the Building
''DavidByrne.com''
Playing the Building
''ARIA''
David Byrne Attends the Opening of Playing the Building
''City Pages''
David Byrne's Playing the Building Art Installation
''Mpls St Paul Magazine''
Playing the Building by David Byrne
''MPR News'' *Video tour
David Byrne: Playing the Building (BBtv)
Installation art works Sound sculptures 2005 sculptures David Byrne Sculptures in the United States Sculptures in London {{music-stub