From Piano to Tree

RISD student Amy Sabpisal ('24) met me at the piano on a sunny fall afternoon. "Oh my gosh, it's changed so much!" she exclaimed as she rounded the corner, ducking under tree branches and into the clearing. It had been nearly five months since she had last visited the piano to produce Piano (de)composition on Bolex 16mm, a short film shot with a Bolex camera. This was the first time Amy had visited the piano since her project, and the instrument had certainly changed: the lid is arched, keys cracked, and the veneer is faded and peeling.

But Amy found these changes fascinating and poetic. "It's turning into a tree again," she mused, as she tapped on the loose layers of wood on the lid. Amy experimented with different ways to play the instrument, including playing percussively on the stuck keys, strumming the strings inside the instrument, and tapping on the piano's bark-like lid. Though the instrument has noticeably deteriorated since making her film, Amy was excited to see and explore its material evolution. "It's not death," she reflected, "It's another life."

Days in place: 237

Weather: sunny and lightly breezy, 68°F

Amy notices similarities between the piano's splintering veneer and the bark of the nearby trees.