BAM takes it to the street with new film installation

October 30, 2019 Alex Williamson

“He Did What?” is playing at BAM through Saturday. Photo by Sam Polcer/BAM

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If you’re passing by BAM’s Peter Jay Sharp Building some evening this week, you might notice a colorful display projected onto the building’s side. That’s not a rezoning protest, that’s an art installation — a comedic mini-opera by Irish filmmakers Brian Irvine and John McIlduff — so stop and check it out.

“He Did What?” is a 10-minute animated short that made its BAM debut on Saturday. The film, a public art commission by the Dublin City Council, will run on a loop through the week from 7-10 p.m., except during inclement weather. Passersby are free to stop and watch, which is projected onto the side of the Peter Jay Sharp Building facing Ashland Place, with headphones provided by BAM.

“I want to bring all parts of the BAM campus to life,” said Artistic Director David Binder. “Art does not just have to take place on our stages. ‘He Did What?’ is great, among other reasons, because it’s widely accessible. It’s there on the street; it’s 10 minutes long and it’s free. You can catch it on your way in or out of Inoah, Hamnet, or a movie this week, or if you just happen to be passing by.”

The opera’s storyline concerns two homicidal octogenarians plotting a murder-for-hire on a cheating husband. Doreen Curan, Sylvia O’Brien and Dan Reardon provide the operatic vocal tracks that accompany the film’s graffiti-like animation style.

The “He Did What?” installation is the first event in Binder’s first “Next Wave” season, which has programming lined up through mid-December and includes theater, dance, visual art installations and harder to categorize attractions.

“He Did What?” is free and running through Nov. 2.