Dustin Wengreen
The summer solstice, that longest day of the year, came and went this week but not without being marked by a small group of collaborators in the East Bay. Chris Duncan staked out Liminal Space for the day, filling the main gallery with dangling cymbals and various other musical instruments, projections, photographs of the sun. Reminiscent of the ceremony he led in the summer of 2010 at the Berkeley Art Museum, this event encouraged all to take up drumsticks and in some way play the space, improvising with whoever else also happened to be in the room at the same time. The results ranged from a wonderfully deafening cacophony to some quieter, meditative moments. As the sun sank lower in the sky on its way to full sunset folks gathered on the patio, BBQing and gabbing with beers in hand, while nearby impromptu installations consisting of leaf-blowers mounted on mic stands performed their own slow gas-powered orbits. We still have plenty of sun left to enjoy this summer, especially in my new home city of Oakland, and I for one aim to make the most of it.
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