The Music Box: A Shantytown Sound Laboratory by Swoon Phase One of Dithyrambalina
Brooklyn-based street artist, Swoon has teamed up with fellow artist Delaney Martin and DJ Jay Pennington to create a three-story public sculpture/performance space/artists residence called Dithyrambalina located on the outskirts of New Orleans’ French Quarter.
The project is funded by Airlift, an organisation founded by Martin & Pennington in response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina back in 2006.
Dithyrambalina has been underway since last October when teams of artists joined forces to build small shacks (or ‘shanties’) out of the salvageable material leftover from a former 18-century Creole cottage that was destroyed by Katrina. Together the ‘shanties’ form The Music Box, a temporary village (a full-scale model of Dithyrambalina) in which each structure is set up to release sounds, ranging from creaky floorboards to singing walls, activated by the footsteps of visitors as they walk through each shanty.
Sound artists from all over the nation have come together to create instruments out of every part of the building including, Ross Harmon’s Bathtub Bass.
The actual project, Dithyrambalina will be completed sometime this fall. In the meantime, The Music Box will continue to host live performances to help raise funds or the project’s completion.
The Music Box Spring Reception will take place on 14 April from 6 – 9pm at Piety Street, New Orleans
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