Locals know the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge well. Opened in 1867 as a precursor to the Brooklyn Bridge, its unmistakable stone towers and sky-blue trusses make their way onto every postcard and skyline shot of Cincinnati.
During BLINK, the original lifeline between Ohio and Kentucky will be reimagined in an explosion of color and sound through “RUMBLE: A Contemporary Voice for the Bridge that Sings,” the fruit of a partnership between Brave Berlin, Vincent Lighting Systems and MASARY Studios. An initiative of Maria Finkelmeier, Sam Okerstrom-Lang and Ryan Edwards, the Boston-based collective MASARY uses their expertise in fine art, percussion, music composition, video animation and live performance to reshape urban landscapes through light projections and unique soundscapes. “RUMBLE” is their first site-specific installation outside of New England.
Finding a voice for the Roebling required getting up close and personal with the bridge.
“We were physically on the bridge with backpacks full of drumsticks and professional recording gear for an afternoon, recording anything we thought might be interesting — from birds in the park to kids playing to trucks,” Edwards says.
Then, the team used their drumsticks and mallets to literally play the bridge like an instrument, listening to what it had to say.
“The other place we look for sound is not necessarily in audio vibrations, but in (the bridge’s) physicality,” Edwards continues. They searched for “hidden music” embedded in the structure: everything from the bridge’s main towers to its suspension cables to its trusses visually represented musical information that would later be translated into sound.
There’s a reason for that: When spectators watch the bridge flow in waves of rhythmic color, the progression of movement should give the illusion that the bridge itself is creating its own joyful noise.
“When you hear a melody go up and down a scale, you’re going to see it move up and down the bridge. When you hear a bass, the big towers are going to vibrate with sound,” Finkelmeier says.
BLINK attendees will be able to experience “RUMBLE” in a variety of ways. One is from a viewing area on the Ohio side of the river. Another is from the bridge itself, whether you choose to walk across or buzz between Cincinnati and Covington in an Oggo e-car — the only auto traffic allowed on the bridge during BLINK.
When on the bridge, Finkelmeier says, “you’re going to feel like you’re a part of the installation itself, (like) there are secrets around every corner.”
Over the course of an hour, “RUMBLE” will cycle through periods of gentle, ambient sound as well as seven distinct stories told through music. One of the seven is titled “Johanna’s Hymn.” Named for John A. Roebling’s wife — who raised their nine children while he traveled the country building bridges — the tune includes vocal samples from the Cincinnati Boychoir and was inspired by church bells Finkelmeier heard on Sycamore Street.
A Cincinnati native herself, Finkelmeier notes that “RUMBLE” was most impacted by the Roebling’s power to connect and inspire, as well as the two cities it represents.
“It’s an opportunity for me to thank the place that raised me,” she says. “The bridge itself was a prototype, kind of in the center of the country, the heartland. This festival is also this massive, beautiful glow of humanity in the middle of the country.”
Like the Roebling — which ties together the riverbanks of Ohio and Kentucky — MASARY’s main objective is to unite people through powerful transformations in a public space. In crafting a voice for a Cincinnati icon, that mission is realized in a breathtaking collision of soul and song.
This article appears in Oct 2-15, 2019.