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  • 3 weeks ago
CONTACT is a short documentary film directed by Jonathan Walley that chronicles the transformation of an entire chronicles the transformation of an entire skatepark into a playable musical instrument—where the skate, BMX, art, and music scenes collide. HCS has been many things: a skatepark, gallery, library, museum, and stage; but, for one weekend, Derek Nelson fabricator, activist, BMX pro, and artist, transformed his skatepark into an immersive sonic installation—part instrument, part playground—for the community of Binghamton, NY to become co‑creators in a conflagration of sound. SMALL TOWN, BIG SOUND. CONTACT reminds us of the joy in creativity, community, and the DIY spirit. Contact is about pushing boundaries, experimenting with art, and reclaiming space in an increasingly cruel, unkind, and oppressive world. It’s a poetic exploration of the creative process told by a filmmaker who calls HCS home.
Transcript
00:00When you try to put something in a category that doesn't really belong in a category,
00:05the explanation, well, it's sort of complicated.
00:09It's incredibly unstable, highly volatile, and really risky.
00:15I don't think this has ever happened in the world before, ever.
00:19The idea that art is less about product and more about process
00:25is really the heart of what Derek does all the time.
00:30Like, that's his life.
00:32Once you get a vision in your head of what something could be,
00:35you almost can't not do it.
00:37Ideas are powerful.
00:38You can't let them go.
00:40You can't create community without risk.
00:45You don't get change and you don't get inclusion.
00:49If you're always holding back, community falls apart.
00:55We're, like, taking sound to its basic form,
00:59just vibrations, wavelengths coming together around this weird and wonderful conflagration.
01:07We build the gear, put it out there.
01:10You don't control it.
01:12It's a zone beast, and it's the Wild West.

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