Treatise Pages 77 and 131
2012, Sculptural Installation / Performance.
Shown as part of Sonic Spheres the 2012 Tarrawarra Biennale and The Score at Ian Potter Museum of Art, Melbourne, 2017.
Treatise - Pages 77 and 131 is a sculptural installation based on 2 pages from Treatise the 1967 graphic score by Cornelius Cardew. It takes the minimal graphic shapes of the score and extrudes them into three dimensional space allowing these shapes to be interracted with directly rather than simply read. Treatise was originally issued without instructions but alongside a handbook on improvisation in general.
Gray’s performance takes to heart Cardew’s exhortation to “Bear in mind that parts of the score may be devoid of direct musical relevance”. Grays’ installation forms both the instrument and the instruction for a performance of Treatise in keeping with Cardew’s thoughts on improvisation. Each shape and line on the score has been converted into an object that can be moved and manipulated by the performers resulting in the collapse of the score as it is performed.