Day is Done

Susan Philip­sz looks to the mil­i­tary his­to­ry of Gov­er­nors Island for inspi­ra­tion. Her piece titled, ​“Day is Done,” (2013) is a large-scale instru­men­tal ​‘call and response’ sound instal­la­tion that spans the new park at Liggett Ter­race and Yan­kee Pier. The work takes the four notes that make up the mil­i­tary bugle call Taps and sep­a­rates them into two groups of four speak­ers locat­ed in Liggett Ter­race and Yan­kee Pier. The speak­ers call out to each oth­er across the Island and become rec­og­niz­able depend­ing on where the lis­ten­er stands. The work is played every day at 6pm. Set­ting the work against the evening is both a reminder that ​‘day is done’ and that it’s time to leave, but also adds an ele­ment of melan­choly to the work as it can be expe­ri­enced both on the Island and from the fer­ry leav­ing the Island behind.