TRAVERSE CITY — The end of the world makes for intriguing art — especially through the eyes of Kevin Summers.
This fall northern Michigan-born Summers brought an apocalyptic assemblage to the stage at Avant Garde a Clue II — a week-long, international, experimental music festival in Rochester, New York that highlights more than 200 acts from various places worldwide.
His piece, “Clown Call for the End of the Anthropocene,” is a sound sculpture created from repurposed signal horns, old barnwood, alarm bells, a DJ lighting controller and other materials found by Summers through the years. This is just one installment of his greater series focused around caution for the end of the world.
“I’ve been doing a series over the past few years of warning beacons or signals or sirens, and it comes from a couple different inspirations,” Summers said. “The first inspiration is kind of the aesthetic of these automated shoreline emergency systems that to me are interesting because they have light, sound, and a nice form.”
At the show itself, surrounded by other experimental artists dedicated to all kinds of themes and mediums, Summers appreciates the community that can be found. Those who performed alongside him throughout the week are familiar with the history of the noise scene — something that allows the audience a deeper look into what he’s creating.
“There’s a long history in experimental music of people using air horns and signal horns and that goes back to the 19th century with composers like Luigi Rissolo,” he said. “These are postwar artists saying ‘I’ve heard all these sirens,’ post-World War I, World War II, and now I’m incorporating them into my artwork.”
One of Traverse City’s own exhibits, down by the Open Space, holds a coveted spot as one of Summer’s favorite spots of inspiration. A box with a flashing light sits at the beginning of the rocky pier. For him, the ever-changing decor of local youth and creatives tagging mark it as one of the “most interesting pieces of public art in Traverse City.”
“One of my favorites is down at the Open Space, right where the rocky pier starts. It’s a big box, and it has a big light that flashes on the top, and everybody tags it up. For me, I’m like, ‘That is the most interesting piece of public art in Traverse City, because it’s always changing,” he said.
The minimalist aesthetic of this landmark, as well as many others that Summers looks to while creating, is something that draws him in. Many of the artists he looks up to, including Takis, did most of their work throughout the ‘60s and early ‘70s, when the technology of alarm signals and warning beacons was still developing. For him, his work isn’t a completely original idea — he’s working within the tradition of artists using available technology to create assemblages.
“I’m making these signals and warning beacons because we’re at a turning point in a dangerous time in humanity. We’re in the time when things are really going to change,” he said.
For Summers, this art is not just about introducing new, experimental styles of art, but also to challenge the everyday perception of the world surrounding it.
“I have a piece over at Historic Barns Park called ‘Warning Beacon for Historic Preservation.’ It’s doing similar work to what I’ve been doing in the past — it’s built out of reused material, and pieces from the renovation of the historic building at the park, and it has a flashing light,” Summers said. “You’re about to walk into this overly interpreted area full of a lot of new things, which are all fine, but also block us from seeing the really interesting things happening on this site. They interpret history for us, but don’t let us get into the land. If we privilege nature, how much better would the world be?”
His passion lies in intersecting art with nature, allowing it to act as a lens that can change or increase perception, even in everyday life.
“Sometimes I get flack from people, ‘Kevin, do you even like art?’ Yeah, I do, but we have to put it in the context of the world. Sometimes we forget how interesting the natural world is. If we can do art and put art in the environment and make it help us see those things better, that’s what it’s supposed to do, in my opinion. It’s here to act as a mirror, but also help us see things differently. These alarm things are supposed to say, ‘Hey, wake up, check this out. How cool could all of this be?’”
While he didn’t come into the scene through a path of classical training, unlike other members of the community, he has long had an interest in unconventional sound art, dating back to his childhood in Traverse City. Prior to his time at Carnegie Mellon University studying art — specifically concentrating in sculpture and time-based media (often anything electronic or digital) — he discovered the noise and experimental music scene through events around the area.
“There would be great shows at the City Opera House. In the late ‘90s it was shared — the city ran stuff there, but there was an arts council there, a gallery there, there was a variety of things, and you could rent it for super cheap. Kids from the college would rent it out and you’d have these huge, very diverse punk and experimental music shows. People would come up from Ohio, Chicago, Detroit, and there’d be a huge mosh pit. It was amazing,” Summers said.
“That’s what gave me the idea. This weird tape-manipulation stuff that I’m doing at home — there’s a place for it in the culture. Seventeen-year-old me was like, ‘that is awesome.’”
Though he just recently wrapped up his latest performance, new things are already in progress. A second, smaller edition of “Clown Call for the End of the Anthropocene” is in development, with a simple goal of making it easier to tote around and perform with. Additionally, Summers has continued to dedicate his artistic efforts toward larger, social-action-based pieces, such as the annual Piggery Pete’s Perchten Parade.
For more information on his artistic installments and performances, learn more at knsummers.com.