Infos
2019
The main plaza outside the Prague Exhibition Grounds is given over to performance artists, categorized in the Prague Quadrennial as “Formations.” When I arrived today, the first thing that caught my eye was a small stack of animal carriers, the size that a cat or small dog would go to the vet in. Being the kind of person who always looks inside curbside cardboard boxes for a litter of kittens, I was immediately intrigued. When I discovered that they contained pigeons and that milling around the pigeons were cool-looking musicians dressed in all black, I was in.
The ensemble was Cairn, from Paris: two flutists and a bass clarinetist. The pigeons and their two handlers, who wore bright red polos over black pants, were from the French town of Poitier. Nearby was the composer/mastermind, Robin Meier. The show was “Song for Ghost Travelers.” It piece had originally been conceived for the Paris train station in 2015 and reworked for the PQ. As I planted in a bench dead-center of the action, Meier told me that the pigeons have small flutes strapped to their back, and when they’re released, they play.
