Why I sawed up my violin live online

We shared video yesterday of Emily-Ondracek-Peterson sawing up a violin at the Crested Butte festival, of which she is joint artistic director. We asked Emily why.

All in the name of art, she replied:

Like many festivals this summer, the Crested Butte Music Festival’s 2018 season celebrates and explores Leonard Bernstein and his surrounding world – his compositions, works and composers he championed, and artistic movements that were taking place during his lifetime. For example, our concert last night featured 2018 Bernstein Award winner Charles Yang, performing Bernstein’s Serenade with Maestro Tito Munoz. On July 12th, we presented an evening of Fluxus performance art, in which audience members and festival performers were invited to perform works from the Fluxus movement. One of these events was Solo for Violin by George Maciunas, during which the performer is first asked to play the violin and then mutilate the instrument (full text below). For the record, the entire outfit – violin, bow, case, extra strings, and rosin – was purchased on Amazon for $25 and was more akin to a large Christmas Tree ornament than a violin. That the instrument made any sound was miraculous.

The reactions from the viewers and comments prove that this is indeed a highly effective piece of Performance Art.

Solo for Violin (For Sylvano Bussotti)
play any sentimental tune
scrape strings with a nail
loosen strings and pluck
break string by over tensioning peg
insert bow between strings & sound
board & oscillate bow
hold bow to shoulders & bow with violin
strike with bow over sound board
scrape inside of sound box with box
blow through sound holes
put pebbles inside sound box and shake
violin
scrape floor with violin
push-pull violin over table or floor
scratch violin with sharp tool
saw violin or part of it
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