Beautiful and Brutal – 50 years in the life of Preston Bus Station
LOW PROFILE, Keith Harrison, Anna Raczynski
Location: Harris Museum, Art Gallery and Library, Preston Bus Station
Year: 2019
On Sunday 14 July 2019, Conductor I 8 movements took place at Preston Bus Station.
This live choreographed interruption in the life of the Station involved 32 buses driven by skilled drivers performing slow sequenced movements from the bus bays, mirrored simultaneously by the actions of volunteers in the passenger concourse. The piece was accompanied by a soundtrack by Preston Field Audio, created from recordings of the station and electronic loops in response to artist Keith Harrison’s schematic working drawings. At the end of the event all 32 buses lined up and left together with lights flashing and horns sounding – as the last buses to leave at night did through the 1970s and 80s.
Conductor was recorded by filmmaker Jared Schiller and is showing at the exhibition Beautiful and Brutal: 50 years in the life of Preston Bus Station at the Harris Museum, Art Gallery and Library 21st September – 24th November.
Additional photography by Michael Porter and Ash Hardman