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 a few days in and around the city, mapping various spaces and locations (parks, public squares, roof tops, industrial buildings etc.) through sound by using simple objects (glass jars, plates, wires, found objects etc…). One possibility is to use the same set of objects, but play them in different spaces. 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 also will give a basic overview on both technical and artistic processes using sound, video and web based media.

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Past workshops:

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

New Maps of Time workshop, Istanbul Turkey (2.2010)

New Maps of Time workshop, Calgary Canada (4.2010)

New Maps of Time workshop, Malmö Sweden (5.2010)

 

Some recordings in the space:

Riga power station binaural sound walk mp3 file

Riga power station internal water tank drones mp3 file

deep resonance inside old oil tanks, the view from the tanks above looking out to the Baltic sea: mp3 file

group improvisation inside the bunker, those present in the bunker session- Maksims Shentelevs, Toomas Thetloff, Kaspars Kalninš, Jekabs Nimanis, Johanna Lonka and myself: mp3 file

An urban research group in Tartu was looking at the phenomenon of urban exploration. I suggested to make a small trip somewhere in the city. Out of a few interesting possibilities we decided on the former meat factory, a site full of urban legends, as it is fairly central and easily accessible. This meat factory stopped production some time in the early 1990s but the evidence of their production is still visible everywhere. On the third floor there are literally rooms filled with piles of bones from what appeared to be sheep. The rest of the building is mostly trashed. It seems to be a popular to practice graffiti and make fires. The highlight was the view from the roof and being able to make a few sound recordings with the group.

One important idea for me is to not only explore these types of hidden or abandoned spaces, but to instigate some creative activity while visiting. While abandoned spaces may not be valuable for the society, they offer creative potential for the individual, who often forgets how much the everyday social codes, laws and regulations of the urban environment confines their mode of living. Once these boundaries or removed, even the very experience of navigating and sensing the urban space must be reconsidered, opening potentials for more creative exploration (however short or ephemeral). These two recordings give some idea on how working with sound can allow one to interact with the material objects and forms of the space. The first case was more of a simple walking action on the broken glass while the second was more of an improvisation with all the available materials throughout the space.

former meat factory – walking action (3:20) Tartu, Estonia: urban expoliration01

former meat factory – sound action (7:28) Tartu, Estonia: urban exploration02

Special thanks to Sven and the others from Linnaseminar for this trip. Also, Tanel Saimre from Tartu has a nice page of binaural recordings made around Tartu. He has a recording of the same sound action but from another angle (his head!). Tanel Siamre recording

UPDATE: Nov. 5th 2008 – the former meat factory has been demolished. Someone said they wanted to convert it into apartments or something, but I think it needs to be torn down before anything new is built there.