Mark Prier

Artwork


Der Vogelhändler, 2014

Performance description: A busker walks urban streets and walking paths, operating a hybrid busker organ-seed broadcaster. The busker organ-seed broadcaster pipes selections from Carl Zeller’s operetta Der Vogelhändler and spills birdseed on the ground below. Performed in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada from August 13 to 24, 2014.

Presented as part of the City of Saskatoon’s Placemaker Program.

Materials: cart, busker organ-seed broadcaster, music roll, hulled birdseed, scoop, bucket, broom & dustpan.

A man wearing a Panama hat, striped shirt, and brown tie pushes a cart carrying a busker organ down a rural gravel road, cranking the handle on the organ's side. A close-up view of an open busker organ, revealing the white music roll full of holes and some of the wooden mechanisms. A close-up of a man wearing a striped shirt holding the crank of a busker organ with his right hand. A close-up of a hand pulling a looped cable that sticks out from the side of a busker organ. Below the hand is a brown metal chute. A close-up of the underside of a busker organ. Below the organ is a brown metal chute. Birdseed is currently spilling off the chute. A close-up of a man wearing a striped shirt holding a blue plastic funnel full of birdseed. He fills a busker organ's seed compartment. A profile view of a man wearing a Panama hat, striped shirt, and brown tie pushing a cart carrying a busker organ down a city street, cranking the handle on the organ's side. A rear view of a man wearing a Panama hat, striped shirt, and brown tie cranking a busker organ on a cart. He is standing on a city street, facing a large white build with a mural of a newspaper splattering colourful paint. Text above the mural reads, I read it in The Star! A rear view of a man wearing a Panama hat, striped shirt, and brown tie pushing a cart carrying a busker organ across a busy city street, cranking the handle on the organ's side. Ahead of him, a dark pickup truck waits to turn right.
A front view of a man wearing a Panama hat, striped shirt, and brown tie cranking a busker organ on a cart. He is standing on a city street in front of a wooden fence. Two pedestrians, one with a large backpack and another with a bicycle, stand nearby listening and smiling. A side view of a man wearing a Panama hat, striped shirt, and brown tie cranking a busker organ on a cart. He is standing on a city street at a bus stop in front of a building. A crowd of pedestrians pass by, some turning to look at him. A front view of a man wearing a Panama hat, striped shirt, and brown tie cranking a busker organ on a cart. He is standing on a city sidewalk in front of a building. Two pedestrians are staring at the busker organ, while a woman in a dark head covering passes by in the foreground. In the foreground, a partial view of the corner of the busker organ in a busy city square. In the background, a crowd is marching past waving Pakistan flags. A close-up view of the side of the busker organ and its brown chute. It is sitting on a city sidewalk. A man in a business suit passes by. Shops and pedestrians are in the distance. A close-up of the open top of the busker organ, displaying the music roll and wooden internal works. In the background is a city street. A city bus is driving past. A front view of a man wearing a Panama hat, striped shirt, and brown tie cranking a busker organ on a cart. He is standing at a city market in the midst of a crowd of shoppers. A family has stopped to listen as the busker lets a young girl turn the crank. A side view of a man wearing a Panama hat, striped shirt, and blue tie is rewinding the music roll inside an open busker organ on a cart. He stands in a city park on the edge of a paved walking trail. In the distance, a bride and groom walk with a photographer. A front half-view of a man wearing a Panama hat, striped shirt, and blue tie pushing a busker organ on a cart, cranking the handle on the side. He is in a city park on a paved walking trail next to a large fountain. A front view of a man wearing a Panama hat, striped shirt, and blue tie standing behind a busker organ on a cart. He stands in a city park on a paved walking trail. A two children in formal wedding attire have stopped to listen. The young boy turns the crank as the young girl listens.

The Ontario Arts Council is an agency of the Government of Ontario.