Main Stream explores the game of bowling as an all-American pastime in an all-American location of Muncie, Indiana. Reconsidering the Middletown studies of the early 20th Century that set out to typify what was quintessentially American, and determine a baseline for normal behavior across the country, notions of normalcy are explored through a game ubiquitous to much of “middle America”, and fraught with cultural associations and stereotypes which are heavily linked to mid-western culture, and middle-class society.
The project was created and activated during a month long residency at Plyspace in Muncie, and installed in an unused storefront at the Muncie Mall as a temporary, community-based project. The game of bowling was re-imagined with a shorter than regulation sized lane, and a softwood, unoiled lane surface which took the impressions of each person’s throws. As the project continued, the surface became increasingly dented and marred, potentially affecting the results of subsequent throws. The bowling lane was used for casual, free-play by the mall patrons, and themed events were intermittently hosted in the evenings and on weekends. Pinsetting and ball returning was completed manually by the artist after each round.
