HD•BPM
HD•BPM by Ryan Edwards is a community public art experience where every drum stroke paints a pixel of a projected image facilitating music-playing for all ages and highlighting the work and text of local visual artists and writers.
HD•BPM by Ryan Edwards and Masary Studios
August 30 and 31, 2018
East Boston Shipyard
A Now + There Accelerator Project
Photos by Aram Boghosian
Working with a team of trained musicians and community members, Edwards encouraged participants to pick up a drumstick and start making music on the irresistible set of lighted drum pads. Pads were programmed with samples of drum, bass, keyboard, and other contemporary sounds. With each stroke hit, a corresponding color revealed itself, pixel by pixel, on a projected image until the artwork was finally revealed. This process was repeated throughout the evening, encouraging people to stay, play, and connect.
HD•BPM employed local curator and provided stipends for participating artists and writers.
Video by Ernesto Galan.
About the Artist
Ryan is a Boston-based inter-disciplinary artist with a background in West African drum and dance, jazz and new-music composition. He composes extensively for contemporary dance and produces multi-media performance works and installations through the studio he co-directs - Masary Studios. Learn more about Ryan here.
N+T Critic-in-Residence, Leah Tripplett Harrington dives into the 2018 N+T Public Art Accelerator projects, exploring how they use social exchange as their main medium and participation as their most critical material.