Lewiston—Exhibition of Artists’ Piano Rolls Inspired Works on Display at Bates Mills, 35 Canal Street, 2nd Floor
Over thirty artists working in Maine and outside of Maine have been invited to participate in “The Piano Roll Project: Shared Sensibilities,” from July 16 through October 30. Each artist responded by altering a vintage piano roll, some as long as 40 feet, with their own artistic expression. The artists were encouraged to paint, draw, cut, tear, collage, write, sew or weave with the continuous roll of perforated paper and accompanying word scores for songs. This exhibition, organized by artists Kristin Malin and Gail Skudera, is on display at The Bates Mills in association with Museum L-A’s “Power of Music” Exhibit. Originally built in 1894, the Bates Mill served as a textile manufacturing company that produced woven coverlets of high quality and design. Malin and Skudera organized this exhibition to reflect a community of artists with a shared sensibility and immersion in contemporary practices. Highly valued was how each artist would interact with the inherent beauty and pre-digital language of the roll. Piano Rolls were in mass production from 1896 to 2008. Each perforation in the paper represents a note control data when fed into a tracker bar. The visual evidence of this language is shared with the Jacquard Looms which can still be seen at Museum L-A. The looms used a system of punched out cards to facilitate the weaving which became the precursor for modern computers.
Participating artists in this exhibition are:
Mary Armstrong, Krisanne Baker, Lucinda Bliss, Kimberly Callas, Jim Chute, Stoney Conley, Alan Crichton, Gayle Fraas/Duncan Slade, Nancy Glassman, Paula Heisen, Stew Henderson, Jung Hur,
Joël LeVasseur, Amy Lowry, Heather Lyon, Dan Mills, Tyler Mills, Judy Perry, Jan Piribeck, Jim Provenzano, Ellen Roberts, Pam Smith, Barbara Sullivan, Kathleen Sweeney, Byron Tucker/Tarra Rosenbaum, Catherine Talese, Jeanne Wells, Kristin Malin, Gail Skudera.
The public is invited to an Opening Reception on July 17, from 5-7 pm. Please enter at the main atrium at 35 Canal Street in Lewiston, and take the elevator or the stairs to the Second Floor exhibition space. Hours for visiting the exhibition are every Thursday and Friday from 1-5 pm, through October 30. This exhibition is free and open to the public. There will be a Closing Reception on October 30 in the evening. For more information please contact Kristin Malin at 207-371-2387 or Gail Skudera at 207-312-5272.
Images from Kimberly Callas – Work in Progress: 
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