Playing the Playground

Over the past few years, I've been attracted to the idea of playing a place - extracting an environment's sonic character by drumming on its physical features. This past weekend, I took myself to Emerald View Park on Mt. Washington with the intention of filming in front of Pittsburgh's skyline, but, as I've often said, circus has a way of challenging your expectations.

I discovered this playground which, in its quiet motionlessness, captured the strangeness of these times. Even the caution tape and barricade fencing meant to keep people away was dismantled and still. It was one of those sites where there's not much to say but so much to think about.

There I was. Curious about how to cheat the death of a place. "I can't play at the playground," I thought. "So I'll play the playground."