prague : exhibition performance, workshop

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 meditative 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 collaborative 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 cemetery 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.