Heisen, Paula, Kristin Malin, and Gail Skudera. 86 page hardcover catalogue. Lewiston, ME: independently published, 2017.
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Vanishing Point is a meditation on industrial automation most prevalent in the first half of the 20th century. The installation combines wagons and carts used by factory workers in Lewiston’s industrial textile mills, and piano rolls used to operate player pianos, a popular leisure activity during the same period.
Simply put, industrial looms and player pianos were operated by information stored on perforated paper or cards. The frequency and location of punched holes embedded data that was transmitted to the complex machines. By “feeding” this data into the loom or piano, people operating these machines were able to create something nearly identical over and over, whether it was textiles or music. This technological forerunner to the computer was put to use in workplaces such as this former textile, mill to increase production and consistency, and at home, to hear high quality piano music “played” identically.
—Dan Mills
