Inconclusive Responses (12:17)

Composition produced from recordings made during the ‘New Maps of Time‘ workshop held in Prague, October 2009. This track is a remix of field recordings and improvisations we made at Skolska28 Gallery, Stromovka Park and the Dul Mayrau coal mine museum. Special thanks to Milos V for coordinating this and to the participants for their time and energy; Eliska S, Matěj G, Lucie P, Stanislav A, Matej K, Lucie J. Released in honor of the ‘praha – favourite sounds of‘ CD our now on Engraved Glass.

Introduced Species (12:31)

This track is a remix of an improvisation we made in the former sewage treatment plant in Bubeneč. Participants included Milos V.,  Eliska S, Matěj G, Lucie P, Stanislav A, Matej K, Lucie J.

Again, be sure to check out the ‘praha – favorite sounds of‘ CD out now on Jez Riley French’s Engraved Glass label.

New Maps of Time
sound workshop Praha / Kladno Czech Republic
‘New Maps of Time’ is a project and workshop about mapping architectural and urban spaces using sound as a means to express actions within a space. read more…

Workshop Dates: 9-13th October 2009

Festival Dates: 10-16th October
in collaboration with FAMU, Skolska28, Open EYE project, Four Days in Motion festival, Biennial Vesitges of Industry

online: Radio Aporee Maps | Prague Favourite sounds

Site-specific sound actions:

Museum of former Sewage Plant – Piece for 10 underground channels: mp3 file

Passage way in central Prague – Komedie Pasaz action with multiple mics: mp3 file

Stromovka Park in Prague – Clapping action with multiple mics: mp3 file

Video gallery on Vimeo

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

exploring subjectivity and territory through sound, bridging acoustic processes with social and digital communication…

New Maps of Time, Prague/Kladno Czech Republic (10.2009)

New Maps of Time, Istanbul Turkey (2.2010)

New Maps of Time, Calgary Canada (4.2010)

New Maps of Time, Malmö Sweden (5.2010)

New Maps of Time, Torun Poland (4.2011)

New Maps of Time, Vienna Austria (8.2011)

Concept

‘New Maps of Time’ is a project and workshop about mapping spaces (mental, architectural and natural) using sound as a means to express actions within a space. The project process works with the basic understanding that artistic creativity can be a ritual by which we live out and  share the subjectivity of our own experiences. This inherent subjectivity must be  understood not only as an intellectual notion but through means of participatory activity on  different levels of personal, collaborative (between artists) and contextual actions (interventions in a space). The emphasis here is on subjectivity as articulated through direct experience of social intervention over the mediated representational forms of listening we are used to (“music” and “entertainment” of mass media).

Sound, as perceived by one of our primary senses hearing, is one of the best ways in which to explore the subjectivity of personal and collective experience and to test our own creative abilities. By using sound we develop means to map both space and social relations with our own cognitive process. In order to refine these cognitive maps we introduce constraints such as activities, materials, durations and the physical dimensions of the surrounding build environment. These constraints are the boundaries by which we can reference our own activities for interpretation and discussion to help further refine the activities.

In addition, we employ more objective external references (commonly known as recorded media) to add to the mix. The plethora of digital media recording devices offer a set of tools from which to develop an array audio-visual narratives for sharing on the local level and throughout any network these devices may be connected. Both processes, the cognitive and the mediated aim to increase the level at which we find recursive modes of information exchange integrated with the artistic working method.

Process Plan

The project involves spending time in and around the city, mapping various spaces and locations through sound and listening (parks, public squares, roof tops, industrial buildings etc.). Using simple objects and tools (glass jars, plates, wires, found objects etc…) we are able to also activate the spaces we find. I  would like to work with a small team of students or local artists to help play these objects as a sort of free-form ensemble who gets to develop their abilities through the activities of the project. These participants can be local artists from abroad. I will record these actions and keep a record of the times and places where they took place (and make short films from video recordings as well).

The actions will involve generating acoustic sounds and patterns from the objects we have and/or find in the space to activate each location. Working together we will explore the balance between our gestures and movements to create sounds and the intelligibility by which we communicate through sounds (this has been thoroughly explored in various workshops. See the documentation from the Sound as Space, Sound as Language workshop developed with Patrick McGinley and Maksims Shentelevs or the Revenant sound project.

At the end of each action the working group would evaluate their experiences in a short discussion session as well as by listening to or watching the recordings. A selection of the recordings would be made and edited for the potentially use in the final performance lecture. The sound recordings would also be uploaded on the internet to Radio Aporee Maps which gives an overview from areal satellite maps of the different locations.

Performance/Lecture

The final presentation phase would be a “New Maps of Time” performance/lecture on the “sound mapping” process using the various materials collected and edited during the  residency including sounds, video, website, Radio Aporee, and even the objects used. This mix of material offers a representative experience of the workshop as compressed time, a nonlinear narrative with which to engage the public. As much as possible, the presentation space itself would be transformed into an instrument, a hollow body to enter and and be transported to the spaces and shared experiences of the working group from the previous weeks.

This workshop may also be used to give a basic overview on both technical and artistic processes of sound and video production.

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Jacob Kirkegaard – AION
John Grzinich - Location Sound Films

Friday, Feb 16th: Opening of sound/video installations at Skolska28
Saturday, Feb 17th: collaborative presentation/workshop at FAMU

Friday Feb 16th was the opening of the ‘In the Landscape’ exhibition at the Skolska28 gallery. The two works exhibited were my Location Sound Films installation and Jacob Kirkegaard’s video and sound work AION. For me this installation was an experiment to see how well my collection of films and sounds blended together while playing randomly. I divided the material over 3 DVDs which also included black silent tracks for dynamics (an equal chance to see/hear nothing and something). For the most part it worked, especially having sounds come from various speakers placed throughout the space. The opening went well and started off with a meditadive atmosphere as people drifted in and and sat quietly for over an hour watching and listening to both the works. This was followed by yet another intensive period of attention as Jacob and myself each performed live. As usual, I’m never sure how to generate this kind of attention by public audience, but its a pleasure when it happens.

The next day Jacob and I offered a lecture and colleborative sound workshop at FAMU. A number of Czech and international students showed up for this. The lectures gave a general introduction to our work along with an overview of our current projects. We were fortunate to see some Jacob’s trip into the zone of radiation around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. That afternoon we took advantage of the good weather and made a short excursion with the students to collect sounds. We decided to focus on different methods and devices used to record sound including; MiniDisc recorders, an ultrasound detector, an accelerometer and a few voice recorders. Its rare to have such a range of hi-fi and lo-fi devices to play with. The students seemed equally interested in testing all of them. One unique discovery included some mysterious sounds from the earth above some graves in the cemetary in Vysehrad. Its always nice to watch people find new experiences in listening to the world. Afterwards we returned to the sound studio to analyze some of the recordings. I should thank Milos Vojtechovsky of FAMU and the Skolska28 crew for their generous oganizational efforts.