Where Do You Draw the Line Between Art and Politics? consists of a series of interviews with individuals who have been active in various capacities at the intersection of art and politics.
Between historical documentation, political memory, dialogic reflections, and motivational support, the publication focuses on the experiences, commitments, and feelings that animate and inform aesthetic priorities in social spaces both within and outside of art institutions; a repository designed to inspire and encourage the politicization of aesthetics, as opposed to the aestheticization of politics.
The people I interviewed are: Pietro Perotti, a Fiat worker and self-appointed worker communicator; Lucia Farinati, a researcher, activist and independent curator; two anonymous members of a hacker collective working in the field of technology and urban space; Errico Canta Male, a singer-songwriter; and Mario “Schizzo” Frisetti and Luca Bruno, of the Torino Squatters.
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projects
WHERE DO YOU DRAW THE LINE BETWEEN ART AND POLITICS?
NEIDERLANT OU NEIDERLANT
In this project, I asked non-native Dutch residents to make karaoke interpretations of Dutch songs. The songs have been transcribed by the non native speakers according to the (arbitrary) phonetics of their native tongue, highlighting the difficulties in becoming familiar with the sounds of a new language.
The project has been presented as part of the online exhibition Should I Stay Should I Go. The exhibition explored questions around identity and migration viewed through the personal experiences of members of the international artist community in The Hague, Holland. More info here
TOUCH OF THE POPS
Audio release with text and graphics.
The work documents a series of directly experienced balloon pops.
Each pop was performed using a balloon and a location.
All locations were encountered separately by chance and chosen for
their unique acoustic response.
The recordings presented in the book are intended to document the
action of popping, its situatedness, immediacy, and physicality.
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ALL BODIES END IN SILENCE
The work presents several actions Davide has performed with microphones. These actions reflect on the materiality of the sound devices and explore their corporeal aspects, as sounding bodies that he interacts with in unexpected ways. The actions are developed with a direct dramaturgy, each ending with the death of the microphone and consequent absence of sound. Examples of actions include burning a microphone, leaving it on the rail tracks, launching it into the air with a firework, hitting it with a slingshot, … Davide’s actions explore the ephemeral nature of corporeal existence through the presence, absence, and disappearance of sound as a metaphor for life and death.
VIDEO LIST:
Departure [02':40'']
Cut-off [01':38'']
Falling Apart [03':24'']
Until When It Dies [06':10'']
He Hears The Silence So Loud [02':19'']
Untitled [03':08'']
My Target Is Your Eyes [02':34'']
As The Sound Burns [03':38'']
Davide Tidoni: locations, actions, sound, video, editing.
Videos produced by Overtoon and Davide Tidoni.
Thanks to sander, flo, FS, SNCB, a bas la maxi-prison, paolo ruaro, martino, loes@nadine, giammo, eugenio, almarosa, marzi, bam bam bam bam !!!
THE SOUND OF WHITE NOISE
The Sound of White Noise is an audio piece consisting of a series of listening instructions that are broadcasted on the radio and performed by the radio listeners at home. The instructions are about specific body positions and movements that the listeners have to perform in relation to the sound system they are using and the space where they are. A recorded voice gives the instructions and guides the listeners through the entire duration of the piece. Each instruction invites the listeners to interact with the white noise that is diffused through the radio. The movements and gestures that the listeners perform modify the stream of white noise that is diffused in the room and the way it is perceived.
The piece has been broadcasted on the 29th of April 2015 on Deutschland Radio Kultur. A french version of the piece has been realized in 2017 (produced by ACSR, Brussels) and received a mention at the Phonurgia Nova Prix Art Sonore, Paris 2017.
LISTENING/INTERVENTION
The project consist of a series of instructions-based listening pieces that I have developed since 2009 as part of my research on sound, space, and the body. The final version of the first 10 pieces has been completed in 2016 with a residency at Overtoon and an exhibition at iMAL. A book publication containing the first 10 pieces + 20 new ones is currently under development and will be published in 2021.
DOWNLOAD THE PDF BOOKLET WITH THE PIECES
Concept & realisation: Davide Tidoni / Production: Davide Tidoni / Graphics: Davide Tidoni & Marzia Dalfini / Editor: Brian Shabaglian.
NIGHT WALKS
Night Walks was presented at Où sont les sons? Where Are Sounds?
Centrale for Contemporary Arts, Brussels.
Curated by Nicole Gingras.
More about the walks
EXAGGERATED FOOTSTEPS
This is me walking through different rooms of the same building. I compare the acoustic response of each room by means of a pair of metal plates that I attached to the sole of my shoes.
IN THE BLINK OF AN EAR
The video sees me triggering the acoustic response of an empty building by hitting the wall with a stick. To emphasize the hit, I adopted the following visual association: silence=black / sound=light. The title of the video is a clear reference to that.
SINGLES STROKES
In this work I play the snare-drum with a pair of microphones. The recordings explore the physical properties and affordances of the microphone and presents a more intuitive and analog way to approach audio technology. By giving a body to the microphone (by using it as a drumstick) the work reflects on the physical affection and corporal aspect of material culture and how this sensual attraction subverts the conventional modes of consuming technology.
Single Strokes is part of a series of actions that investigates the practical materiality of the microphone and violate the basic rules and principles of audio technology. More actions here: whensoundends.
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.
It’s Not The Architect’s Fault…
A retired hairdresser, a business man , a plumber, an accountant for the city council, a bird hunter, two young design students, a former real estate agent, a local urban planner… these are the people I interviewed on the main themes presented at the Italian Pavillion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2010.
The piece was presented at the closing event of the Italian Pavillion, Venice Architecture Biennale, 21 nov. 2010.