photo (1,2) by Pieter Kers | Beeld.nu
A LOUDSPEAKER BLOWS UP AND FALLS APART…
THE SOUND STOPS ABRUPTLY
LIFE AND DEATH
performances
CEASE TO EXIST
THE BLOWS FROM OUTSIDE
photos by Katerina Tamvaki
A MICROPHONE IS TREATED WITH HOT WAX DROPS AND EVENTUALLY SET ON FIRE.
the mic is exposed
no armor to wear
facing the world
a punch in the chest
each touch is a mark
each flame is a trace
its body a map that accumulates
the sound it makes
a desperate cry
feeling all those blows
until when it dies
ALL OF A SUDDEN
A microphone is placed on the asphalt at one side of a road.
It is slowly pulled towards the other side of the road where the audience stand.
The microphone keeps on going until it gets killed by the passing cars.
It’s like your loved one being struck on his/her way back home.
It’s like you passing away all of the sudden.
Catch Me If You Can
A listener walks in a space holding a snare-drum in front of his face.
A thrower position himself opposite to the performer and set off a number of fire rockets aiming to reach the snare-drum (listener) and listen to sound of the hit.
From a Distance
A loudspeaker is carried through a specific path/trail.
A fixed tone is playedback through the loudspeaker at fixed intervals and predetermined dynamics.
A group of listeners position themselves in a specific spot in relation to the path of the loudspeaker and the acoustic/spatial surround.
The listeners perceive the tone in relation to their distance from the loudspeaker.
The tone appears and disappears responding to the topography of the place, the specific path of the loudspeaker and the atmospheric conditions.
The piece has been performed at the mountain festival Alture, ValTrompia, Brescia. For the occasion, a series of long sine sweeps and silences were played back from a loudspeaker that was carried from the malga Pontogna (1384 mt) to the top of the Gölem mountain (1957 mt). The piece/walk was about 50 minutes.
Confinement
A selection of firecrackers, fire fountains and fireworks are light up from within a drum set.
The explosions grow up to the point where they cannot be contained anymore.
The drum set gets on fire and burns down.
The piece reflects on the dramatic end of a body (drum set) that has been fed with fear and doubts about realizing his/her right to power and freedom.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL DOCU OF THE PERFORMANCE ON FLICKR
Intersections
A loudspeaker is installed on the side of a straight road. It diffuses a constant stream of white noise.
The loudspeaker is positioned in such a way that the projection of white noise is perpendicular to the direction of the cars.
The audience stands opposite to the loudspeaker on the other side of the road.
When a car drives on the road, it intersects the projection of white noise. In this way the audience can perceive a cut in the white noise continuum. The sequence of cuts is organized in relation to the number, speed and size of cars that pass on the road.
The intersection between white noise and cars generates sound effects of masking, cut-out and cross-fade
Rough docu video here:
https://vimeo.com/138603693 (password “ciao”).
How Far Can I Get
1) A performer swings a microphone in the air.
2) At each turn the microphone cable is stretched a few inches more.
3) The performer continues in this way until the cable length becomes unmanageable and the microphone goes crashing to the ground.
The performance is a metaphor about becoming aware of each one’s individual limitations. The cable length represents the point of maximum extension beyond which each one meets his own fear and force. The impact of the microphone to the ground represents the breaking point, the realization of each one’s personal limit, character and vulnerable nature.
Video – Research Material: https://vimeo.com/114553487 (password is “ciao”)
Video – Live Performance: https://vimeo.com/119807144 (password is “ciao”)
Slingshot
photo by Luca Ghedini
A thrower, equipped with a slingshot, tries to hit a microphone.
The impact of the hit is amplified and diffused at high volume from a loudspeaker.
The amplification of the hit allows the thrower to experience the “sensitivity” of the microphone, or in other words: to understand and share the feelings of another body.
Watch the DOCUMENTATION VIDEO here (my piece is at 17′:18” of the video).
Solid-Void
The performance explores the architecture of specific sites by projecting white noise in space.
The fundamental parameters of the performance are: architectural elements (walls, colums, openings, …), body movements (360° rotation, presence/absence, movement speed), direction and movement of sound (direct/reflected, filtering), and the positioning of the audience (distance from the performer, positioning within a certain perimeter).
Here is the IMAGE DOCUMENTATION from a performance that i did in Bologna in 2014.
A Balloon For Linz
A Balloon for Linz brings to light the acoustic response of specific locations in Linz. Together with the video, a series of exploratory walks were organized in the city of Linz. Participants were invited to pop balloons and listen to the acoustic architecture of the urban space.
The project received an honorary mention at the Prix Ars Electronica 2011.
The project received an honorary mention at the Prix Ars Electronica 2011.