Blood Harmony is a multimedia installation that is based around a fictional singing duo, The Landry Brothers, performed by Cate Giordano and Jane Cramer. The title takes its name from the term “blood harmony” which describes an intricate musical harmony that is only possible between close relatives, creating a complex vocal arrangement with a tangible intimacy that can only be achieved by those who are bound by blood.
The twin brothers, Julius and Walter (loosely inspired by The Louvin Brothers), are down-and-out musicians, with a shady manager Big Dean Hartley (Andrew Haynes) who insists they’ll succeed in the music business if they concentrate on singing religious songs. Their big break comes when they are asked to sing at the last minute on the Grand Ole Opry, after the original act is injured in a mysterious car accident. The night before their debut, Julius’s vengeful wife Pearle (Julianna Schley) shoots Julius after a heated, drunken argument, kidnapping Walter and his wife Bonnie (Alice Cohen). Julius wakes up in a mythical hellscape narrated by Big Dean with large-scale animals and an unfamiliar terrain, only to be reunited with his twin, Walter, in a harmony that only they can sing.
The installation in the gallery will feature a recording of the live play, shot in Brooklyn, NY in July
2025, as well as life-size sculptures that combine the costumes and masks from the play with figures made of foam, plaster, wood, and fabric. Additionally there will be several paintings and drawings that are based on scenes and characters from the performance. Cate Giordano spent one month at La Résidence Le Tremblay to complete the larger sculptural elements of the production.
Blood Harmony explores the elemental bonds and inevitabilities of human relationships and navigates the line between violence and love through song and sculpture.
Written and Directed by Cate Giordano
Performers
Cate Giordano
Jane Cramer
Julianna Schley
Alice Cohen
Musicians
Sam Morrison
Garrett Devoe
Jim White
Crew
Eve Sussman
Fred Maass
Clayton Skidmore
Catherine Mahoney
Colleen Burke
Camera
Simon Lee
John Brattin
Jesse Karch
Sound
Steve Silverstein
Location
Wallabout Oyster East Theater
