Automatic Expressions

A player piano found with the scroll for “People Will Say We’re In Love” currently in place is manipulated to play backward. As the lyrics come undone a new poem with a dark undertones is created. The piece moves to the rhythm of lighting conditions in the space. The machined punch pattern on the scroll has a kinship to cutwork animation. The resulting video-poem is titled Automatic Expressions, a phrase lifted from the Ampico Piano Company’s owner’s manual posted inside the piano cover.