four (2013) is an installation of an upright piano which considers how identity may be transferred through sound. The artist is the youngest daughter in a four-generation matriarchal lineage of musicians in Greensboro, beginning with the artist’s great-grandmother and namesake, who moved to Greensboro in the 1920s to study music at the North Carolina College for Women. For the work, the artist, her mother, and her grandmother have been recorded playing hymns from the family matriarch’s hymnal on the family matriarch’s piano. The recordings are played through a speaker installed inside the resonating body of the upright piano. The piano is placed on the street, encouraging the passersby to play the keys and make music along with the recording.
Artist Info
Rachel Devorah Trapp (b.1986) is a sound artist whose work has been performed by artists such as Fred Frith, Laurel Jay Carpenter, and the Del Sol String Quartet. She holds a B.M. in horn performance from the Copland School of Music, C.U.N.Y., and a M.A. in composition from Mills College.
racheldevorahtrapp.com