Archive for the ‘Performance’ Category
Stelarc: cyborg guru
Posted on: March 3, 2013
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Visited STRP 2013 for the first time yesterday. The theme of STRP 2013 exhibition is “City of Cyborgs” . STRP states that in 2013 due to the advance of internet, smart phones, social media etc. we are now all “citizens of Cyborg City”. The real question is not whether we want to be cyborgs, but what kind of cyborgs we want to be. So STRP invited artists who explore the concept of the cyborg.
The most impressive piece in this exhibition is the exoskeleton of Australian artist Stelarc:
Stelarc focusses exclusively on enhancing/redesigning the human body in his performance art pieces, in fact creating a “cyborg”. Stelarc has been extending his body through performances since the late 1960s. Stelarc’s artistic strategy revolves around the idea of “enhancing the body” both in a physical and technical manner. It originates as a polarism between the “primal desire” to defeat the force of gravity with primitive rituals and a low- tech and the hi-tech performance with the third arm and the related cybersystem.
His intention in both cases is to “express an idea with his direct experience.”:
Quite an interesting artist IMO, so here are some links to enable you to explore his work in detail:
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After the disappointing 2011 STRP Festival, the event has transformed itself into a bi-annual festival. It will take place from March 1 to 10.
STRP BIENNIAL is 10 days of hybrid music, art and technology for curious people.
Of course I will be there at the Klokgebouw building at Strijp S, Eindhoven.
See: STRP website
- In: Performance | Recordings | Sound art | Synthesizers | Uncategorized | Videos
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I first became interested in synthesizers and electronic music in the late ’70’s through the music of Pere Ubu (US) and Cabaret Voltaire (UK). Somewhere around 79- ’80 I decided I wanted to have my own synthesizer, inspired by albums like “Dub Housing” (Pere Ubu) and “Mix Up” (Cabaret Voltaire). Especially the weird sounds created by Allen Ravenstine on Pere Ubu records motivated me to start playing synthesizer (besides guitar) . These sounds were made by a modular EML synthesizer. I couldn’t afford an EML however, so I went for the Japanese budget alternative: a semi modular Korg MS-20, which I still own and play today.
Allen Ravenstine was part of Pere Ubu until the end of the ’80s. The modular EML synthesizer remained a basic ingredient of the Pere Ubu sound up until today, played by Robert Wheeler and others. I recently stumbled upon this video of a EML synthesizer jam session by Allen Ravenstine and Robert Wheeler, apparently the first time these Pere Ubu players ever played together. The video contains some interesting interview fragments in which Allen Ravenstine explains how the EML synthesizer became part of the unique Pere Ubu sound:
Allen Ravenstine and Robert Wheeler EML synth session.
The video fragment seems to be part of an upcoming film about modular synthesizers and their players. This is the text accompanying the video:
“In late February, 2012, former Pere Ubu synthesist Allen Ravenstine and current Pere Ubu synthesist Robert Wheeler, two legendary figures of Cleveland’s punk rock scene met at Grant Avenue Studio to discuss and demonstrate the EML modular synthesizers that have been an integral part of the Pere Ubu sound for almost 40 years. The interviews are part of the upcoming film: “I Dream of Wires: The Modular Synthesizer Documentary”. I DREAM OF WIRES interview segments are sponsored by MATRIXSYNTH (matrixsynth.com/). “
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I watched a Chris Cunningham VJ performance at the last STRP Festival and wasn’t that impressed by it. Thought it was too much of a paste-up of older music video’s.
But today I accidentally stumbled across this video annex remix of a Gil Scott-Heron song (remember “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised“?) on his website and this really is impressive, both as a 6 minute video and a song. This remix is actually telling a story, instead of just being a sequence of random image and sound fragments.
Apparently this “New York is Killing Me” video/remix was shown on 3 screens in the MOMA somewhere in September, 2010 as part of the PopRally program.
Check out:
nnnoises 