Carmen Beuchat and Juan Downey
Energy Fields

“This one-night event was in three parts. In the first, a black vinyl curtain was cut into strips which were tied into knots and set on fire. Burning drops from the curtain fell into a long rectangular trough of water. The second part utilized three-dimensional laser graphic patterns and electronically generated sounds, both controlled by the level of radioactivity present in 112 that evening. The third and main section involved a number of performers interacting with an invisible field of ultrasonic waves. This imperceptible and inaudible field was shaped like a pear and about 18′ in length and 15′ in diameter. The motion of the dancers through the field generated a pure electronic tone so as to make the invisible pear shape perceptible to the audience.”

From a conversation with Juan Downey, 112 Workshop/112 Green Street edited by R. Brentano w/Mark Savitt, NYU Press.

Excerpted from Brentano, R., & Savitt, M. (1981). 112 Workshop, 112 Greene Street: History, artists & artworks. New York: New York University Press.