Installing "How Do You Know?" (2008)

Today, I installed "How Do You Know? (With Music By American Composers)" at Rufus King International Baccalaureate High School. This is part of a series of performances and displays that the non-partisan organization, My Vote Performs, has put together at 11 polling locations throughout Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

When one of the organizers approached my for a proposal I immediately thought I would be, quite simply, host a piano recital of music by American composers at the polling location. I teach piano and host two piano recitals a year that feature my students, so, even though this would occur in early November, more than a month before the regularly-scheduled "Holiday Recital", I thought it would be a good incentive for my students to memorize more stuff. Plus, I had a budget and would be able to give each participating student some kind of honorarium. (I will always remember the first cash I ever made for playing the piano: $15 for playing one song at a wedding.)

Of course, it wouldn't be as simple as that. I would actually have to do work, since My Vote Performs smartly wanted the pieces, if not the performances themselves, to be site-specific. I met with some people at Rufus King International Baccalaureate High School (yes, that's the full name) to learn about the school.

I learned:

1. It's the #1 public school in Wisconsin.

2. The International Baccalaureate program is similar to the Advanced Placement program but has the advantage of actually offering a degree.

3. The seniors in the program tackle some serious topics, such as, "To what extent did Fidel Castro's regime have an effect on the Cuban economy from 1975 to 1995?" Or, "To what extent was jazz music used to ease international tensions during the Cold War?"

I had met many Rufus King High School students while working my summer job teaching video production and international culture through film in a pre-college program at Marquette University. In that rigorous program, these kids often distinguished themselves.

During the meeting, I was struck that the students were challenged with this trio of questions: "What do you know?", "How do you know?", and, "How do you know you know?" I decided that my "site-specific" portion of my piece would have to include these questions.

So, in a fashion that I realized only afterwards was akin to several of my other "performances" - the annual Open Mic Letters Show comes to mind - where I rely on the community for content, I put out a call to many of my friends to answer those three questions.

I received many varied responses, each wonderful and enlightening. Now, as I type this and the stress of the installation vanished, with Orange Juice playing over the living room speakers, I feel a tad humbled that many people actually did respond without question or reservation. And when asked for their permission to use their first name (and a picture of them) for my display, many readily agreed.

Thanks.

Many regrets. I got the go-ahead for this project in late Spring, so I know I missed an opportunity to involve my students from the pre-college program I work for in the summer. I also, as is usual, regret not starting this earlier. Sure, I've been practicing the piano and learning material since forever, but I didn't start producing the visual materials until about two weeks ago. This led to a late night the night before the install.

The installation itself went without incident. I had 17 sets, each with one framed picture and three responses printed on ivory card stock paper, to fit into three display cases. Initially, I thought I was getting the display cases and two tack boards in the hallway, but a meeting with my contact at the school revealed the miscommunication. This would prove to be in my favor for the display cases worked perfectly: there were three identical ones, they were lit, and their closer arrangement should make it easier for viewers to make the necessary connections between the quotes.

Along with the 17 sets, I had some window cleaner and paper towels, tape, and black construction paper purchased a half-hour earlier.

I initially wanted to talk about the process of installing, specifically in regards to problem-solving and making an analogy to writing a term paper, but I'm too tired. There's an unofficial Scrabble tournament tomorrow in Chicago and I have to wake up early to get to it.