All around Fort Collins’ Old Town Square you’ll find art – galleries and sculptures on corners and murals in alleyways.
The artwork is easy to see and even easier to hear.
“It’s very, very active,” said Liz Good, visual arts coordinator for the City of Fort Collins. “There’s loud music, just people walking by and playing their own music.”
The music is like a map that leads people to the source. Once they find it, it doesn’t look like what they imagined.
The city of Fort Collins started Pianos About Town about 12 years ago, inspired by an art installation in New York at the time. The program reuses used and donated pianos and then places the instruments around town with a hook.
“It creates an opportunity for people to enjoy local art and spontaneous music,” Good said.
The city, in collaboration with other local interest groups such as the Bohemian Foundation, chose 13 artists to paint the pianos this year. Artists, one by one, paint a piano, and then that piano ends up in a predetermined location somewhere in Fort Collins.
Of the 13 people selected this year, only one is a returning artist. CM Canino painted the penultimate piano last year. This year he is the first artist to paint.
“It’s a public work of art. And essentially, my art connects you with people,” Canino explained. “Then ultimately, when it’s done, it’s going to be kind of transformative and how people play it.”
Canino isn’t a musician unless you count the time he used to DJ. Painting pianos is his way of combining his two passions – art and performance.
Artists have two weeks to paint their piano. Canino adjusted its strategy after last year. He says the key is to accelerate yourself – don’t do too much too soon and don’t wait until the last minute.
His inspiration for his piano piece is a mix of different artistic styles that use bright colors to spread happy feelings. However, much like the music played, the design is left up to the audience to interpret.
“It’s not the song, it’s how you play it. So, you know, even though it’s alive, if you play a sad tune on it, it might sound a little sad,” Canino said. “That’s the transformative element about the piano project that I really appreciate.”
The city has chosen 20 different locations for the pianos, but has no plans to promote them in order to keep the art and music spontaneous, almost like a treasure hunt.
“People love music and they love making music and hearing people make music. And it’s just that opportunity for someone who doesn’t expect to go and see a piano and just play great music,” Good said.
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