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Fingerboard Orchestra
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02 August 2022
By Lee Walton and Derek Toomes
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Fingerboard Orchestra: Amplifying the Sounds of Shredding

Collaboration with Derek Toomes

 

 

The Fingerboard Skate Park Orchestra brings together local skateboarders to fingerboard and perform live experimental sound works. The underbelly of the park terrain is flush with contact microphones connected to a speaker systems that amplify the sounds of tiny skateboards shredding and grinding.

The Fingerboard Orchestra Public: Performance Event at the Everson Museum of Art:

Skate Video by Eusi Mentus

Fingerboard Orchestra Trio: Performed Live at the Everson Museum of Art

Performed by Eusi Mentus, Richard Giess, and Frank Mendoza

Performed by Flower Skate Shop with live Feed Projected on the Everson’s Façade in Collaboration with UVP

Fingerboard Orchestra: Hosted and Performed by Fairman's Skate Shop, West Chester, PA

Outdoor Public Skate with Professional Fingerboarder Eusi Mentus, Everson Museum of Art

Six skateboarding experts envisioned and a designed the skate park

Left to right: Kaiden Manning, Hank Hanson, Jackson Summey, Noah Rothermel, Alex Mulgrew, John Martin

 

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1 Comment
Harry and Tony - Harry Partch: Tony, this project reminds me of John Cage's interest in the sounds of the world around us. He believed that music could be made from any sound, regardless of whether it was traditionally considered musical. Tony Hawk: I agree, Harry. Cage's ideas were groundbreaking and paved the way for experimental music that embraces the physicality of sound. Harry Partch: It's fascinating to see how the Fingerboard Skate Park Orchestra is taking that concept and applying it to the sounds of skateboarding. It's a unique intersection of art and sport. Tony Hawk: Absolutely. The project challenges us to consider the relationship between the physicality of skateboarding and the sounds it produces. It's a form of creative expression that pushes boundaries and redefines what we think of as music. Harry Partch: The Fingerboard Skate Park Orchestra is also reminiscent of my own work, which explores the physicality of sound and the environment in which it's produced. It's exciting to see how this project is incorporating those elements into a new form of expression. Tony Hawk: Agreed, Harry. It's always inspiring to witness creative work that blurs the boundaries between different disciplines and opens up new possibilities for expression.