Reconstruction around the Crane Ballet project, based on original sound fragments from Gordon Matta-Clark.
This project was initially planned for September 1977. It consisted of lifting a net structure with several harbour cranes, in the old industrial port of Antwerp, next to the Scheldt River and close to the city centre. The net structure would have been made in the same material as Gordon used to create Jacob’s Ladder. The pictures show us the old industrial cranes, Gordon wanted to use to lift his net structure. He wanted to create a kinetic changing ‘mass form’ with the net, as a kind of ‘stage like environment.’ The element of playing by moving and ‘choreographing’ the cranes was essential for Gordon in this project.
The first sound testimony is a fragment of the recording which was made at Cherica’s home in Diest, Belgium, around the end of May 1977.
The second sound recording was made on the film set of Jacob’s Ladder in Kassel, Germany. It was recorded June 23, 1977, following an interview Flor Bex had with Gordon.
The third sound fragment was recorded on the film set of Office Baroque around mid August 1977 in Antwerp, Belgium.
Gordon returned a last time to Antwerp in October 1977 for the opening of his exhibition at the ICC around Office Baroque. On that trip Gordon also visited Cherica at her home in Diest. It was the last time Cherica saw Gordon alive. No more film recordings were made during that trip, except for some sound recordings made on the opening of the exhibition
