Synopsis
I believe it is important to create awareness of the small daily sacrifices of life that go typically unnoticed.  In the SFSU Music Department, students practice daily for hours on end in order to reach their goals.  It is a common misconception that playing music for a living is purely fun.   Most people have no concept of the sacrifices and dedication it takes to be a true musician.  My goal is to hold a magnifying glass to the hard work music students subject themselves to daily and thank them for being dedicated to their craft. I propose a monument to the SFSU music students that will highlight their unnoticed hard work and dedication, and instill in them a sense of pride while instilling in others a sense of respect for musicians.  The monument also hopes to make an unspoken statement  on the poorly maintained practice rooms music students are resigned to use, in an effort to generate awareness and get these spaces cleaned up.  

Background     
For my monument intervention project, I have chosen a site on the SFSU campus that is very near and dear to me: The SFSU Music Department practice rooms.  In the Creative Arts Building , there are rows of practice rooms, each with a small window in the door and a piano inside.  The pianos are out of tune, ceiling tiles regularly fall down and the ventilation system is haphazard at best.   The rooms are dirty, stuffy, and, in general, not well taken care of by students or SFSU staff.   I believe these rooms have an unnoticed history and deserve to be brought to light.  Every day these rooms are occupied by music students practicing for hours at a time.  These music students are dedicated to improving themselves and reaching their goals.  The hours spent practicing are hours that could have been spent outside, at home, with friends and family, and if nothing else, breathing fresh air.  I would like to recognize the dedication of the music students as well as make a statement about the state of these rooms by turning one of them into a functional monument.  Years ago, each room was given a composer’s name by taping a small piece of paper in each window.  I would like to transform the John Cage practice room into a shrine by covering the walls in white fabric that hangs from ceiling to floor, and place a collection of white objects such as flowers and pictures on the top of the piano.  White is a pure and sacred color, and is also the color which best represents silence. I would place a plaque in the center of the objects to memorialize student devotion to practicing and ask that each person take a few minutes to sit and listen to the sounds of people working towards their dreams.  I would also call attention to the added sound dampening provided by the cloth, and the artistic use of a space on top of the piano that is normally occupied by the non-permitted food and drink that damage the pianos.   I am hoping to set up this monument in secretly over a brief amount of time during the last week of school and observe the student’s reactions.

Project Description
I propose the transformation of the John Cage practice room into a functional monument that can be used for practicing music or reflecting on those who practice music.  I have designed it to look like a make-shift shrine, and am including a poster board artist statement which reads: “Practice rooms are sacred places where students sacrifice valuable time in order to reach their dreams and goals.  We encourage you to sit for a moment and listen to the sounds of dedication around you, or perhaps you would like to contribute to the music of these old hallways?”

I have specifically chosen The John Cage practice room because is located on the end of a row of practice rooms and can be easily seen from multiple hall ways.  I have also chosen this room because Cage’s concepts of  listening to environmental sound and silence is very relevant to this monument and can be used to draw people into the mind set of listening to the ever-changing sounds of multiple students practicing.  I have included three records overhead with labels that read “enjoy the silence” for all who enter the space.

Materials
The materials of the monument will be inexpensive because it will consist of purchased items as well as many found objects.  This should not have the look of something too polished or high-art, it should relate to the students by using objects that are most common and familiar to the student population.  The walls will consist of long panels of white satin draped from ceiling to floor on the walls directly behind the piano.  The fabric is meant to clean up the dingy appearance of the walls and clogged vents.  I will place a shrine on top of the piano which consists of fake white flowers and one empty music stand which I will use to symbolizes silence.  Records hung from the ceiling will act as mobiles and will have labels reminding us to pay attention to the silence.

Fabric:  14 individual 3-yard satin panels, for walls and an additional yard for the base of the shrine. 

Curtain Rod: Three spring loaded tension rods for a simple and fast installation

Music Stand: Found object

Flowers:  6 bouquets of white silk flowers and garland

Wood plank: Found object that will serve as the base of the shrine.  

Records: Found objects that will be given new labels with one word per label to read “Enjoy the silence”

Spray glue/ Industrial hot glue gun: used to mount new record labels onto records and mount objects to base of shrine.

Fishing line/thumb tacks: used to attach records to the ceiling

Foam board: used for mounting the artist’s statement that will be propped behind the piano

Result
The end result will be a functional practice room with a shrine above the piano which is visible from the practice room window in the door.   People will be able to practice or chose to just sit at the bench and listen to the sounds around them.

This monument will challenge the 'traditional' idea of monuments in that it commemorates the history of practicing while still allowing the same act of practicing to continue in that same space.

Outside view

Inside view:

Benefits
This installation is intended to give the SFSU musicians a sense of pride in the space where their work occurs, as well as instill a sense of respect for the dedication of musicians in non-musicians.   The new awareness and sense of pride will also prompt people to take better care of the practice rooms, thus making these rooms better for musicians to work in.

Estimated costs

Project timeline

Preparation

·        Curtains will be sewn and threaded onto curtain rods and wrapped around each rod.

·        Fabric will be wrapped around the shrine base.  Satin, flowers and base of music stand will be pre-mounted.

·        Records will be fitted with a hole in the top.  Three feet of fishing wire will be tied to each hole and a loop made on the opposite side of the line for hanging the mobiles from the ceiling

Estimated preparation time: 2 days

Installation

·        It will require two people to put up the installation, and a “look-out” to make sure hall way is clear of people before bringing the pieces in while the installation is in progress, and upon exiting the completed practice room.

·        Once inside the practice room, paper will be taped over the inside of the window and the door locked.

·        As the installation begins, it is crucial that the installers sing and play the piano as they work in order to keep suspicion at bay.

·        Curtains will be unwrapped and the rods fitted to each wall.

·        Shrine base will be placed on top of the piano and music stand will be fitted to it.

·        Tacks will be used to hang record mobiles to the ceiling.

·        Foam board with artistic statement memorial concept will be placed on the piano behind the empty music stand.

Estimated completion time: 15 minutes