Stone I at The Green-Wood Cemetery
—A New Site-Specific Performance in Collaboration with Acclaimed Pianist Margaret Leng Tan—
–In Green-Wood’s Historic Chapel–
Photo by Maria Baranova
Read the review of the performance by Wendy Perron
Contemplating the immensity of time, tension, and density that stone holds, performers Eiko Otake and Margaret Leng Tan present Stone I, a site-specific performance in Green-Wood’s Historic Chapel. This new work is greatly inspired by two unique geological sites: Sweden’s remote Gylsboda Quarry, which Otake visited as part of a month-long residency at MARC (Milvus Artistic Research Center), and The Green-Wood Cemetery. The evocative, immersive piece runs from June 26 through June 29, 2024, starting each evening at 8:30 pm.
In June 2023, while in residency at MARC, Otake visited and worked with cinematographer Thomas Zamolo in the Gylsboda Quarry. Together, they recorded her body as it moved amidst the deep caverns of ancient stones. The resulting video will be projected on the limestone walls of the Cemetery’s century-old Gothic Chapel. It is a jarring juxtaposition between the rough, raw black diabase of the quarry against the carved features of this contemplative space. Before the performance, visitors will be welcomed with a video featuring stones found at Green-Wood, many of which were deposited on site by the movement of glaciers over 25,000 years ago
Stone I is a collaboration between Otake and award-winning avant-garde pianist Margaret Leng Tan. Departing from their traditional roles as dancer and pianist, the collaborators sustain each other through sound and movement. Playing a toy piano, gong, stones, and sounding objects, the artists offer a complementary soundscape to the film’s audio that captures the life and voice of the quarry thousands of miles away. They reflect on bodies, stones, and the incessant human need for material resources, a need invariably destructive to the environment. The performance offers viewers an intimate and immersive experience as the artists move about the space around them, quietly meeting viewers’ gaze.
This is the FIRST installment of an ambitious interdisciplinary collaboration between Otake and Leng Tan. Conceived of and rehearsed exclusively within the intimacy of Green-Wood’s Historic Chapel, Stone I builds on Otake's history of creating deeply resonant pieces for Green-Wood, following her previous projects, A Body in a Cemetery (2020), Mother (2023), and With the Dead (2023). Iris McCloughan is the project’s dramaturge.
“It’s a privilege to continue our collaboration with Eiko and serve as a recurring backdrop for her creative practice. This new work with Margaret exemplifies Green-Wood's dedication to promoting the arts through dynamic programming, creating space to platform fresh perspectives and provoke meaningful dialogue," said Harry J. Weil, Vice President of Education and Public Programs.
“Looking at and thinking about stones seriously for the first time, I am struck by how stone holds an incredible density of time. Reflecting on this, and considering my deep connection to Green-Wood, I am grateful not only for working with Margaret, but also with people who attend the cemetery and the dead who rest there,” said Eiko Otake.