BLACK STATES / 2007

CNC-fabricated vinyl records, Medex, nylon hardware
36" x 48"

The surface of Black States is constructed entirely from vinyl records. Every record features the music of a different African-American artist (focusing mostly on Soul and Funk music). The records were cut down into a custom tesselating tile shape, designed to allow for the construction of a large, linear sheet of vinyl with no gaps in its surface.

In addition to the formal impact of this dark, shiny material (and its loose connection to skin color), I was interested in how the underlying musical data created a visual texture. Though I often heard the suggestion that I should construct a device that could "play" the surface, I was much more interested in the audience's awarness of the abstract potential (more beautiful, I imagine, than the actual sounds the surface might produce).

In the collection of Lance Macon, Chicago.