The Lothars

Institute of Contemporary Art, July 22, 1997, Boston, MA

This was the opening of an installation by artist Rirkrit Tiravanija. His modus operandi is to use institutional spaces in non-traditional ways. In this exhibit, bands can sign up for free rehearsal time in a windowless room at the museum. Museum-goers won't be able to hear the bands except for the muffled sounds through the wall. They won't be able to enter the room, but there will be a surveillance camera inside and a monitor outside, so they will be able to tell that there is, in fact, a band practicing.

At least, that's how it was supposed to be. Since this was the opening, many drunk patrons of the arts insisted on opening the door to the room and peeking in. We quickly realized that it was useless to protest, and had an open rehearsal for an hour, most of which was taken up by Ramona trying to tune her guitar ("I usually don't have this much trouble tuning. Really."). Other bands "practicing" that evening included Fuzzy and Cherry 2000. Fuzzy were joined by Jon's Theremin on a few songs.