When Elephants Fight, It Is the Frogs That Suffer—A Sonic Graffiti

Benjamin Patterson was a co-founder of Fluxus and its sole African American member. He consistently treated the score as an ethical prompt: a call to act, listen, and compose social relations anew. When Elephants Fight, It Is the Frogs That Suffer—A Sonic Graffiti hides speakers throughout the landscape. A layered soundscape combines frog croaks, people imitating frogs, the artist’s voice, and multilingual readings from Aristophanes’s ancient Greek tragedy The Frogs (405 BCE) and the Brothers Grimm fairytale “The Frog King” (1812), intermixed with quotes from political figures, including Claudette Colvin, Nelson Mandela, and former President Barack Obama. Visitors can join in via a microphone in the speaker’s corner during select programs.

Frogs are important animals to Patterson. They’re often associated with fertility, transformation, and prosperity. Frogs are also sensitive animals, often among the first species to disappear when environments are polluted.

Local contributors include: Father Panagiotis Kostoulas, Sonia Zamanou, Alkistis Lappas, Lyndsey Ellis, Kayla Reed, Charlie Farrell, Tef Poe, and Nevada Nieves.

Thank you to the Benjamin Patterson Estate for their collaboration on this project.