***VERSION FRANCAISE

Pour sa 22ème édition, Dimanche Rouge vous invite à découvrir et vivre des performances expérimentales dimanche 19 mai entre 19h00 et minuit à la Villette Enchantée (Grande Halle de la Villette). Pour les trois prochaines éditions, Dimanche Rouge sera à la Villette Enchantée le troisième dimanche de chaque mois : le 19 mai, le 16 juin et le 21 juillet 2013. Programme et plus d’informations ci-dessous.

PROGRAMME

▶ 19h-22h
Présentation du programme avec performance spèciale par Pascal Lièvre ”Aérobic Générique”
Sjoerd Leijten et Patrick Bossink “Improvisation for Bicycle, Guitar, Radio and Analogue Synthesizer” (sound art, Hollande, 20’)
Thomas Albrecht et Rae Goodwin “Spilled” (performance art, USA, 20’)
Yu-Jun Ye “The Sound of the Kitchen” (performance art/multimedia, Taiwan, 20’)
Abel Azcona “Droite” (performance art, Espagne, 30’)
Geneviève Favre Petroff “Loukoum” (dance/light, Suisse, 20’)
Christian Patracchini “Means Without an End” (performance art, Royaume Uni/Italie, duree non determinee)
▶ 22h-00h
VJ/DJ After Party
Human Koala (live set, France)
DJ Tom Junk Food et VJ Karina Junk Food (DJ/VJ sets, France)
Dimanche rouge #22 vous proposera des performances à partir de 19h00, suivies en seconde partie de soirée d’un DJ/VJ électro jusqu’à Minuit. Plus de 10 artistes venus de 8 pays différents présenteront des performances transversales et multiformes intégrant des performances artistiques, multimédias, chorégraphiques, audio-visuelles ou encore sonores.
L’événement mettra l’accent sur des concepts tels que les limites du corps, l’interaction avec le public, le langage, la diversité culturelle, l’amour, l’abandon, la vulnérabilité ou encore le toucher.
La soirée débutera avec une improvisation électroacoustique produite par les roues d’une bicyclette du duo hollandais Good Cop et Naughty Cop, suivie des artistes américains Thomas Albrecht et Rae Goodwin dans une performance conceptuelle explorant le langage en utilisant de la creme et des cailloux. Le programme se poursuivra avec l’artiste taiwanaise Yu-Jun Ye, qui intéragira avec des objets de la vie quotidienne pour produire une performance multimedia. Nous continuerons la soirée avec le performeur espagnol Abel Azcona dans une performance improvisée sur le thème de l’amour, du sexe et de l’abandon. L’artiste suisse Geneviève Favre Petroff clôturera le programme vêtue d’une robe faite de cubes lumineux imitant les loukoums turques pour vous proposer une réflexion sur l’Orient et l’Occident. Quant à l’artiste italien-anglais Christian Patracchini, il se produira toute la soirée dans un espace privé où il invitera le public à le rejoindre dans une partie de carte interactive en face à face.
L’after party DJ/VJ présentera les sets du compositeur de musique électro live Human Koala ainsi que le DJ Tom Junk Food accompagné de la VJ Karina Junk Food qui mixeront musique électro et images.
Dimanche Rouge est devenu un des plus grands festivals mensuel de performances expérimentales en Europe avec plus de 600 artistes de 62 pays programmés en moins de deux ans.
Ce festival basé à Paris organisera une édition dans la capitale et à l’étranger avec son festival annuel qui aura lieu en octobre 2013 en Estonie, en Finlande et en France.

***ENGLISH VERSION

For its 22nd edition, Dimanche Rouge invites you to discover an evening of experimental performances on Sunday, May 19th, 7pm-midnight at La Villette Enchantee, Grande Halle in Parc de la Villette. The next three months, Dimanche Rouge will be at La Villette Enchantee on the third Sunday of the month: May 19th, June 16th and July 21st, 2013. Program and further information below.

PROGRAM

▶ 19h-22h
Artist Pascal Lièvre presenting the program with special performance “Aérobic Générique”
Sjoerd Leijten and Patrick Bossink “Improvisation for Bicycle, Guitar, Radio and Analogue Synthesizer” (sound art, Netherlands, 20’)
Thomas Albrecht and Rae Goodwin “Spilled” (performance art, USA, 20’)
Yu-Jun Ye “The Sound of the Kitchen” (performance art/multimedia, Taiwan, 20’)
Abel Azcona “Droite” (performance art, Spain, 30’)
Geneviève Favre Petroff “Loukoum” (dance/light, Switzerland, 20’)
Christian Patracchini “Means Without an End” (performance art, UK/Italy, undetermined length)
▶ 22h-00h
VJ/DJ After Party
Human Koala (live set, France)
DJ Tom Junk Food/VJ Karina Junk Food (DJ/VJ sets, France)

Dimanche Rouge #22 will present a program of experimental performances from 19h till 22h, followed by a DJ/VJ electro after party till midnight. Over ten artists from nine countries will produce performances in disciplines including performance art, multimedia, dance, video and sound.
The event will focus on concepts such as playfulness, body boundaries, audience participation, slippage of language, mutual enrichment of cultures, love, abandonment, vulnerability and touch.
The evening will begin with an electroacoustic improvisation produced from the wheels of a bicycle by the Dutch duet Good Cop / Naughty Cop, followed by USA artists Thomas Albrecht and Rae Goodwin with a conceptual performance exploring language through cream and stones. The program will continue with Taiwanese artist Yu-Jun Ye, who will interact with everyday-life objects to produce a multimedia/performance art act. Spanish performance artist Abel Azcona will produce an improvisational performance dealing with the subjects of love, sex and abandonment. Swiss artist Geneviève Favre Petroff will close the program wearing a dress made of light-cubes imitating Turkish delights to reflect upon the East and the West. Artist Christian Patracchini from Italy/UK will be performing throughout the evening in a private space where he will be inviting the public to join him in a card game as part of an interactive one-to-one performance. The DJ/VJ after party will feature electro music composer Human Koala, who will be playing live sets, and DJ Tom Junk Food along with VJ Karina Junk Food, who will mix colorful electro music and images.
Dimanche Rouge has become the largest monthly experimental performance festival in Europe with over 600 artists from 62 countries having performed in less than two years. This Paris-based festival holds editions in Paris and abroad with its annual festival in October, 2013 taking place in Estonia, Finland, and France.

PERFORMANCES

Sjoerd Leijten and Patrick Bossink “Improvisation for Bicycle, Guitar, Radio and Analogue Synthesizer” (sound art, Netherlands, 20’)

Sjoerd Leijten is a composer, musician and sound artist. Open forms, improvisation, indeterminacy and real-time processing often pop up in his work. Next to his activities as a vocalist and guitarist he designs interactive and generative applications within programming environments such as Supercollider, Pure Data and Arduino.
He is a member of Il Faut Manger, an adventurous pop music trio, and of theVolle Band project, an audiovisual bicycle project based in Amsterdam.He is performer, sound designer and coder in the the electro-acoustic improvisation duo good cop / naughty cop. Furthermore he makes music for movies, theatre, modern dance and computer games. www.sjoerdleijten.nl
Patrick Bossink is an ambient composer and piano / synthesizer player. He produces ambient music under the moniker Arpatle and is a member of adventurous pop collective Il Faut Manger. https://soundcloud.com/arpatle

“Improvisation for Bicycle, Guitar, Radio and Analogue Synthesizer”

Improvisation for Bicycle, Guitar, Radio and Analogue Synthesizer is an electroacoustic improvisation duet. A bicycle is standing upside down. A guitarist and a synthesizer player are standing around the bicycle (the bicycle has been borrowed from a local bicycle owner). The speed of the bicycle wheels is connected to the sounds the two musicians make. The speed of the wheels can constantly be heard in the music – it makes the rhythm very dynamic, since it’s speed is never constant. Little piezo microphones on the bicycle enable the musicians to explore the percussive qualities of the bicycle as well. The involvement of another nostalgic object opens up the improvisation for input from the outside world: radio. On-the-fly samples are being taken from local radio stations as material for the performance – in order to take on a playful approach towards things that happen in this or that very moment. www.goodcopnaughtycop.wordpress.com

Thomas Albrecht and Rae Goodwin “Spilled” (performance art, USA, 20’)

Thomas Albrecht works include wall drawings that record passages of time through accumulations of mark; paintings that negotiate the remnants of human agency without picturing actual figures; and performances on city sidewalks that explore ritual and language in public spaces. Albrecht is an assistant professor of art at the State University of New York at New Paltz.  He served as the Menil Scholar at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music and was selected as a Faculty Fellow for the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities. Albrecht received his BFA from Rhode Island School of Design, a Master of Arts in Religion at Yale, and his MFA from the University of Washington in Seattle. www.thomasalbrecht.com

Rae Goodwin examines aspects of family history as it influences the construction of her identity, as well as gender-based assumptions about freedom, the unknown and nature.  Goodwin received an MFA from Winthrop University and has shown work at the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, McColl Center for Visual Art and other venues nationally and internationally. Goodwin currently serves as Director of Art Foundations at the University of Kentucky. www.raegoodwin.com

“Spilled”

There is poetry in the way people communicate; how interpretations of language—verbal and non-verbal—generate meaning, or lack thereof. Intention is interpreted and our own inner dialog rests like stones on our tongues. The residue of language is held between us as it falls, slips, or is thrown.

Rae enters the space first, symbolically wearing white. She pours cream from pitchers into two stacked bowls making sure there is no spillage. With a downward gaze, Rae stands and pours, recalling Vermeer’s painting “The Milkmaid.” Rae sits and waits for her partner for minutes. Thomas enters the space and sits down, harshly, after much stomping. With hands on the dark wood table, the two performers stare at one another and seem to say nothing—and everything—across the distance. Separated by bowls that have been filled carefully to the brim with heavy cream, they begin the dance of conversation. Using imagery from Mark Strand’s poem “To Begin,” their mouths are filled with dark grey stones. They take turns removing one stone at a time at two-minute intervals. The rocks, or intentions, are dropped or slid into the cream. As the stones disappear from sight below the surface, the cream overflows onto the table, and, because of a slight pitch in the surface of the table, moves slowly along the table and then spills onto the floor below. The entire slippage of language—from stone, to cream, to table, to floor—functioning metaphorically as a slow, creeping waterfall.

Yu-Jun Ye “The Sound of the Kitchen” (performance art/multimedia, Taiwan, 20’)

Yu-Jun Ye works at the art space “instant 42” in Luzhou , New Taipei City (Taiwan).  Ye is managing and renovating the space as a form in creation to serve as a gallery, studio, and residency.  She has shown her work internationally including the Nippon International Performance Art Festival (NIPAF) and has earned art degrees from the Ecole Nationale Supérieur d’Arts de Paris-Cergy and the Sorbonne University. www.instant42.net

“The Sound of the Kitchen”
This performance was conceived by Ye Yu-Jun and Cheng Yi-Ping (Betty Apple) at the invitation of the Lacking Sound Festival (Feminine Sound II – Spring). It is an improvisation of body, sound and poetry, performed by these two female artists. The sounded texts are taken from fragments of everyday life, and are thus naturally staggered. Both artists select objects related to their own personal experience, and by physically interacting with them, they record and produce a live sound performance. Within this interflow of sound, they create a montage of body and mind. In this incarnation, Ye Yu-Jun will repeat the performance, making new interactions, sounds and situations, based on the premise established at the Lacking Sound Festival (Feminine Sound II – Spring).

Geneviève Favre Petroff “Loukoum” (dance/light, Switzerland, 20’)

Geneviève Favre Petroff is a singer and visual artist from Switzerland. Known for her visual performances, which include music and technology, she invites her audience to follow her in her stories, in her dances, and to participate in social debates. www.genevievefavre.com

“Loukoum”

This ‘‘rose-flavored’’ performance evokes the beauty and wealth of the Middle-Eastern culture. I speak about encounters, conviviality and mutual enrichment. After a tempestuous Arab Spring, where people fought for freedom of expression and individual rights, and faced with growing anti-Islamic sentiments in our region, I have chosen to question the contemporary customs in the East as well as in the West. I wear a mini-dress cut in the 1960s style, referencing sexual freedom, women’s lib movement and the conquest of the space. I use a visual design reflecting the 1980s, such as disco, video games, and entertainment. I dance and address the public at the same time, singing with a rhythmical musical accompaniment inspired by Egyptian pop music of the 1990s. My dress consists of 124 lokum cubes (Turkish delight) of increasing size, which light up and draw motives in movement, synchronized with the music.

Abel Azcona “Droite” (performance art, Spain, 30’)

Spanish Visual Artist specializing in performance art, interventions, video art and photography. Azcona has shown his work in Spain, France, England, Germany, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Argentina, U.S.A, Philippines and Japan. www.abel-azcona.com

Christian Patracchini “Means Without an End” (performance art, UK/Italy, undetermined length)

Christian Patracchini’s performances have been featured in exhibitions and festivals both in the UK and abroad, amongst which BIOS Festival in Athens 2009, the PAE Festival in Rotterdam 2010 and the Colloquium Festival 2011 at Central School of Speech and Drama. More recently he has performed at the Whitstable Biennale Satellite Festival and Performance Space, London. www.christianpatracchini.com

Video of “Certain Duties”

VJ/DJ AFTER PARTY

Human Koala (live set, France)
www.humankoala.com
www.soundcloud.com/human-koala

DJ Tom Junk Food/VJ Karina Junk Food (DJ/VJ sets, France)
www.homemadecollectif.com
www.soundcloud.com/tomdejunkfood

Oscar Mac-Fall: Most artists perform to an audience whereas you performed with the audience! What was the aim of this work?

Steve Vanoni: The main focus of my work is to involve the audience in my performance. I remember being in Malmo a couple of years ago watching a very nice durational performance piece; I was leaning up against the wall standing next to a friend when I realized and commented to my colleague: “Oh, this is our job as audience members; to be stuck to the wall; like flies on fly paper….” It was a rather unsettling realization that changed and challenged me to rethink and act out more in my works in order to get the audience to move and become more actively involved. The audience members can be living contributors in performance works, can move and share their thoughts and feelings if the performer is interested in opening the door to them.
For me an audience that is sitting still, quiet and static might as well be dead bags of flesh non-actively stuck to a spot. That perhaps is an extreme viewpoint, but I like to remind them that we are alive!!!!! We are able to move and think and create something living together.

I not only utilize my nervous anxious energy in my schemes and actions, but include the audiences nervous energy in order to create a mood and tension that is real, beautiful and alive.

OMF: How much planning goes into your performances?

SV: The performances are always choreographed: where will they start out being? Where do I move them to? I always do three actions.

The first thing that I do in my actions now is to move the audience.  This is my first action: to get them up and take them somewhere.
WE ARE ALIVE>>>>> WE CAN MOVE!
I bring the audience into the artwork and set them up onto the pedestal. They always look great, similar to a Duchamp found sculpture. Then I let them revel in their beauty and the possible absurdity of the moment.

OMF: In what ways have audiences responded to your performance?

SV: Audience members are free to participate or not.  I do have occasional refusals to get involved.  Everyone is free to make their choice.  This has only happened perhaps twice over the past 6 years.
I have invented several “performance vehicles” that actively engage the audience in “our” works and for me there is nothing more beautiful than to open the performance up to them and stand back and see their action; they always deliver the gooooods…..they help make everything happen within the performance structure and format.

OMF: Tell us about your project Art Car.

SV: I have collaborated on and created more art cars on the planet then anyone thanks to the help of various performance art organizations that I work with globally.
In my hometown in Northern California I have collaborated with a great group of artists from the HORSECOW Arts Community, which I co-directed for a decade and created two Art Cars.  In 2008 I was invited to collaborate with groups of artists and created Art Cars both in Estonia and South Korea. In September 2012 I went back to Korea to create my 4th Korean Art Car for the Korean Experimental Art Festival. In May 2011 I created yet another car for the HUNGER INTERNATIONALES PERFORMANCE ART FESTIVAL in Berlin.

I have conducted Art Car workshops in various communities around the globe. This is a wonderful opportunity to come into a community, share my knowledge and talents and to get to know and work with various members of the community.  When creating an Art Car you collaborate with artists from the community, children from the schools, senior citizens who live in retirement centers, teenagers from youth activity centers, or students from various art academic settings.  We collaborate on the Art Car together for an agreed upon duration over the period of 1 to 2 weeks.  Upon completion, it’s possible to utilize the Art Car in parades, performances, exhibitions that can be held at a variety of Festivals and community celebrations to help bring populations from the community together and to also deliver the art onto the roadways for the the community to enjoy and be proud of.

OMF: You have worked with various Estonian performance artists including those associated with NON GRATA and Art Container. What would you say is special about Estonia in terms of performance?

SV: I have performed with and as a member of NON GRATA perhaps 100 times globally since 2006. I think that Estonia does have a certain sensibility about their performance art works, perhaps it is because of the repression of being a former Soviet Block Country. There are many factors.  Semiotics is big in Estonia and they are of course well educated and aware of the past and present history of the artform.
The Polymer Factory/Art Container is a wonderful “alternative” space that continues to host great and important Cultural events for the Tallinn area.  Some of the most talented Estonian artists reside here and are some of the most important art movers and shakers on the local scene.

OMF: Lastly, you also manage the amazing experimental rock group CLEANING WOMEN. How would you describe a CLEANING WOMEN show?

SV: Helsinki’s Cleaning Women are one of my favorite bands in the world. They perform both at international film festivals, having performed in 26 countries and also at rock venues and music festivals.  There are 3 members who play self-made instruments created from washing machine parts, laundry dryers and whatever materials seemed to produce interesting sounds. For me as an outsider to the area I came to the Nordic region and listened to the music and looked at the art and tried to understand. How does living in this region: the political climate, the light, the environment, the coldness, have an effect on the artform?  They have a very individualized sound unlike any musical group I have heard. It is very Nordic and makes historical references to the Soviet era as well and has a very modern and sophisticated contemporary feeling that is unique to Helsinki (Mouthful…. GASP!!!!) This year marks their 16th year performing together and we would of course love to bring them to you…

Photos courtesy of the artist

Oscar Mac-Fall: Tell us about the festivals you have been involved in this year.

Jessica Fairfax Hirst: Wow, there have been so many great experiences. I started in January with the International Action Art Festival at the Weber-Lutgen Gallery in Sevilla, which was an intense several days of performances by mostly Spanish-speaking performers, but we also had artists from Turkey. It was interesting to use the gallery space for performance, and the production team offered great support to the artists. In February I participated in Life Bloody Live, the Dimanche Rouge show at Moretti gallery. In March, I performed at ]performance s p a c e[ in London as part of a cabaret of performance, and it was some of the strongest work I’ve seen, on a visceral level- kind of stereotypical performance art, with blood and vomit (not my performance). In April, I performed at two galleries in Washington DC, Hillyer Art Space and the Fridge. Hillyer was interesting for the discussion we had with the other artists, about boundaries between dance and performance. Next, I went to Grace Exhibition Space in Brooklyn, which is an amazing place to perform because it is dedicated to showcasing performance every single week, and Jill and Hoke offer a lot of support to artists. In May, I participated in the 48-hour performance marathon at the Month of Performance Art – Berlin, and that was intensely crazy for the density of the offerings. I was happy to see that Dimanche Rouge was at MPA with Opie Boero Imwinkelried and Red Bind. Next, I participated in a Spanish performance series called Open to Action, and this version was in Madrid. I really enjoyed presenting my work in a very busy plaza; the setting gave a new twist to the piece. In June, I went to Lisbon for Epipiderme, a series that happens about 3-4 times a year, and I loved the city and the artists I met.

Next up was Dimanche Rouge Barcelona Edition, which was of course excellent and fun. In July, I participated in the Miami Performance International Festival, which was in its first year, but many of the invited artists from Latin America and Canada already knew each other from other festivals. People were very friendly. In September, I went to Serbia for the International Multimedia Art Festival, and that was a hoot because we performed in a very small town, and more people came for the free beer than for the performance; they were very surprised by what they saw! In October, I participated in the Performatorio Festival of Durational Art in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. I performed a piece that lasted 24 hours. Next, I performed via Skype at the Zona de Arte en Accion in Buenos Aires; I didn’t go because the Argentine government, at the last minute, denied my partner’s visa, so that was a new experience. Finally, in November I performed at the Deformes Bienal of Performance in the Americas. This was incredible for the performance spaces made available to us in the Contemporary Art Museum in Valdivia; it is housed in a former beer brewery with huge cavernous tunnels underneath it. I did a piece with a lot a tomatoes and fire.

OMF: Wow, you travel a lot! Would you say mobility is important for an artist today?

JFH: Mobility is both essential and very challenging. Essential because the festivals are all over the world, and challenging because air travel continues to be expensive.

OMF: Does the country where a performance takes place have an impact on your work?

JFH: I would say yes, the country where a performance takes place affects the work, but not just the country – the venue, and the producing team makes a huge difference as well. Within a country are many different sub-cultures, for example, if the audience is already familiar with performance the experience is very different than if the audience is from a small town encountering this kind of art for the first time. I was in a small village in Serbia where a crowd of local men came for the beer. I was doing a performance in which I am naked and members of the public write on me, so I had to negotiate these large drunken Serbian men, viewing me through their lens of what it means to have a naked woman in front of them, painting on me. Afterwards one of them tried to join me in the shower.
It is also different if it is in a gallery setting, a theater, outdoors, or part of a larger event that may have little to do with performance. The production team makes a big difference as well. In some places the production offers the space and that is all, while in others they have supplied materials, food, and technical assistance. The kind of performance possible with greater assistance is of much higher quality – and do not underestimate the value of having food and drink provided! It allows the artist to focus on the work.

OMF: Your performances involve sharing very personal experiences with the audience, such as your history with prescribed drugs or aspects of your identity that have been stigmatized. The result for an audience member is one of a powerful sense of intimacy. What are the outcomes of these performances for you?

JFH: Each performance is a journey to catharsis. My performances draw the public closer, whether literally or figuratively. Everyone has experience with prescription drugs to some degree, and is prompted to think of their own stories. In the performance, I pass the bucket of pills, and each person can plunge their hands in to have an experience of a vast quantity of pills in a new way. Everyone has been stigmatized, so likewise they think of their own experiences. Since I did the Stigma performance at Dimanche Rouge, I started having members of the public write the words on my skin, so that the public becomes implicated in the process of stigmatization, only to later participate in erasing it by eating the cake. For me, I feel a bit stronger each time I do a performance, a bit more certain of who I am and a bit less afraid.

OMF: How would you say performance enables you as an artist?

JFH: Performance is my ultimate medium. I can work with objects, creative images, manipulate time, work with the public, and most importantly use my body as an instrument of expression. Performance enables me to express myself in ways that words alone, or painting alone, or dance alone, or sculpture alone, or video alone or any other artistic discipline alone does not enable.

Photographs by Gilles Gallois (top) and Eliane Akl

Bursting with questions, we tracked Meghann down for an interview.

Emma Lee: Meghann, please tell us a little more about your recent performance at the Dimanche Rouge Experimental Art Festival. What materials did you use? Was the performance the work? Or a process to create an artwork?

Meghann Snow: I use bubble wrap, scotch tape, a tarp, plastic and charcoal. The process is very simple. I make the shoes [from the bubble wrap and tape] in front of the audience and then allow the materials to have a voice [Meghann spins the charcoal in circles with her feet to make a black circular pattern on the piece of tarp].

The audience is getting an experience, and they can decide for themselves whether they are interested. The performance itself is a major component of the work, I am still figuring out what the “work” is. To turn the question around, what did you [the audience] feel like when you experienced it?

You have a physical experience and along with the physical experience, you see the work stretched out. That is the final viewing, but as you have experienced seeing it created, when you look at it your memory goes back to the performance. The performance and the work is one and the same. You have seen it being created, experienced it and viewing the charcoal work you see it again.

Even if you haven’t seen the performance, you get a physical feeling from seeing the work. The work itself is a physical performance.

EL: Why do you spin in circles? Is there any significance there?

MS: When I skated, I loved spinning on the ice. I loved skating really fast and winding up and spinning. And turning in ballet, I love it. It’s an adrenaline rush.

In my performance, I am speaking through my own language. My language is abstract and full of movement that needs to be released. Circles seem like the most perfect way to express myself. The circles are made through extreme focus and determination. I have always been judged for them [in ice-skating and ballet], it’s funny to see how our childhood comes back and makes a full circle. I would have never thought that it would.

EL: The endless turns (Meghann’s performances generally last a few minutes) must make you dizzy! How do you stay on your feet?

MS: I am so used to spinning and turning that it comes naturally to me. In my performance I spot [look at] the ground. In ballet you aren’t supposed to EVER look down. I used to get yelled at for looking down. Teachers would say, “there’s nothing interesting on the floor!” But in my defence there is, there is! My bad habit has turned into a part of my technique.

EL: During your studies (Meghann completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at The University of Akron, Mary Myers School or Art and a Masters of Fine Arts at Parsons The New School For Design) you experimented with painting, installation and video art. Your portfolio is certainly diverse! What inspired you to enter the world of performance art?

MS: During my MFA I was studying /working with a New York based artist Jackie Brookner. She was my Professor and encouraged me to do performance. So, in the middle of writing my thesis, I started doing a trial and error testing. I was making videos by taping the camera to my body, specifically to my knee, stomach and arms. I was trying to get different perspectives.

I started thinking about video as painting and treating the film like a canvas. After that one performance, I went back to making abstract paintings but continued working on the videos. Then in the winter of 2010 I did a one night performance at Envoy Enterprises, a gallery on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. I wanted the small space to radiate with the sound of the bubble wrap and tape. That was the music. It was a great performance. Since then I have been performing the Dance Drawings.

EL: What other performance art projects have you been involved in?

MS: There was a performance piece with CREATIVE TIME in New York City in collaboration with Adrian Piper.

That was a crazy experience. I was in my second year of graduate school and I was taking a class about public art in NYC. Studying performance art, I fell in love with Adrian Piper’s work. I love how radical it is and how daring it is with people and public spaces.

At the time I was working at a synagogue and I was working for a high fashion clothing store. I thought long and hard about being involved in the project. I almost convinced myself not to do it but then I took a leap and was like, we only live once, let’s do it! So I did it!

As the henna was being applied to my forehead I was like, OMG, OMG OMG OMG… this is real, this experience is real. The henna tattoo read, “EVERYTHING WILL BE TAKEN AWAY.”

As part of the project you had to look in the mirror 3 times a day and record your feelings. You also had to photograph yourself every time you looked at yourself and you had to journal your feelings. Once the tattoo was on, I felt everything starting to fall apart. My synagogue students responded better than everyone else. I almost got fired from the clothing store and everything was falling apart in my personal life. Then, once it was gone, I felt everything kind of came back together.

I have also been a Visiting Artist at a Hillsborough Community College, which was also an amazing experience. I was commissioned to create two new works in collaboration with the Dance Department. I remember walking in to the studio with Keith Arsenault and the students asked him, “where’s the artist?” I blended right in. When I stood up they were shocked because I looked so young!

They were very surprised that a visual artist could blend dance with visual arts. With them I created a work called, “The Idea of Being Present.”

Then I made another piece called, TIME TO GET PERSONAL. This is basically me exposing my process on stage. I was asked to expand my work into a theatrical experience and I thought why not recreate my painting onstage. I worked with my assistant Sarah Tarvin. We picked some basic moves that would move the paint around the surface. It turned out to be a successful performance and the work was amazing to see. They are large abstract paintings.

EL: You have previously said that art school was like “therapy”. Meghann, you come across as such an open, effervescent person, would it be too bold to suggest that art-therapy worked? Would you recommend it?

MS: A professor I had in graduate school treated our sessions like what I would think a therapy session would be like. I would say that it worked, sure. I was happy to have the experience. I went so I could spend more time on my work, meet new people, and really focus on my craft and process. I would highly recommend graduate school, that’s for sure.

EL: You are clearly an all-round artist (you paint, video and perform), but are you also an art-lover? If so, is there any one particular piece that you would like to hang on your wall at home, or an artist you would like to meet? Why?

MS: If I could bring back anyone from the dead, I would love to have a drink with Jackson Pollock, Robert Rauschenberg, Joan Mitchell, Merce Cunningham and Ana Mendieta. If I could meet anyone right now it would be Helen Frankenthaler, Adrian Piper, Twyla Tharp, Jessica Stockholder, Joan Snyder, Frank Auerbach, Jerome Bel… that would be a dream.

EL: Where do you see your performance art taking you? Does the future look bright for performance artists like yourself?

MS: I like to be optimistic. Everyone’s work takes off into many directions. I can only speak for myself and only hope for the best, and keep working like I do, letting the wind blow me where ever it should lead me.

Olga Walendziak: “Red Bind” is a project investigating limits and ambiguities of gender and body. What was your inspiration to focus on that topic?

RED BIND: Our inspiration comes mainly from our history and our daily lives. The representation of gender is for us one of the many yokes of our present society. The gender, the mere fact of being a man or a woman, still implies a social stereotype that induces an appropriate behavior, and therefore a restriction of individual freedoms and a cause of inequity.

Some of our works focus on the stigmatization due to image and body. The image of woman is linked to a specific index of actions, ideas, codes, just like that of man. Being a woman involves a multitude of things, and this is largely the result of visual appearance, of image…

That’s why we are all the more interested in the ambiguity of gender created by the lack of visual marks, clothes, postures, the transgendered, the reappropriation of codes. This is to neutralize the viewer’s automatic reflexes, to open another lexical field, to get rid of this pre-built apprehension,
fossilized and gangrened by an insidious kind of dictatorship which continues through the ages.

Why should our image as women influence negatively the way we are heard, looked at and valued? This is more than political or social topic. Our work is a dialogue, and we would find it difficult to do it without going through this claim of individual freedom.

We must add that we love to play with the confusion generated by the ambiguity of gender. Disturbing the public gives us a great satisfaction. It implies certain intensity in the audience feelings and their perception. This confusion makes the mark we leave much deeper.

OW: The concept of skin and what hides beneath it seems to be an important theme in your projects. Could you tell us more about it?

RB: As we said, we are working, among other subjects, on the stigmatization due to image and body. How to handle this issue without going through the skin, the shell, the visible, recalling that all existence implies its opposite? The wrapping implies what it contains, the shell what it dissimulates or protects, the visible what it hides. The use of zentai suits is a way of playing with our identity, our gender. From a symbolical point of view, if we go beyond their meaning of submission in the sadomasochistic or fetishistic world, they raise certain questions about the covering or the uniform.

Our suit becomes like a second skin; very close to the body, it gives a feeling of nakedness; it is a mask, some camouflage full of contradictions, since it makes us almost nude and draws the attention of all the people present.

OW: Another theme that has caught our attention was the idea of “double” – as in double gender identity or double personality. Why do you use it in your work?

RB: The double builds our lives. We’ve always been linked to someone, starting with our mother. The child knows that they exist as a dependent and independent being, when he becomes aware that his mother is not a part of himself and that he has no power to control his mother’s hands as he can command his own hands.

The link and the double are inseparable; they concern more or less every human being. It’s a kind of universal concept. The double is first of all the other one; the subject is more than wide… In our case, the fact of working as a couple, and what’s more as a gay couple, quickly led us to work on this theme.

Our double portraits are also born from this idea of the double. Twice as much impact: two characters answering each other in their symbolism.

OW: Some of your performances are interactive. In what ways can the audience participate?

RB: The interactivity of our performances is related to our way of understanding the performative act in itself. We navigate between stage and audience.

[ ACANTHESTHESIA #1 ] is the first performance of an evolving series based on a common structure. The foundations of this structure are: a video and how we act during this video.

We move very slowly towards the public, with an economy of gestures and movements that makes us look like two puppets. We wander among the audience and begin our interaction when the emotion aroused by the video begins to emerge. This emotion is a subjective datum, which we feel growing within ourselves, or which becomes tangible on the faces of the audience.

Each of us, independently of the other, chooses her own modus operandi of approach and stares at the face of a spectator who will then seem moved or touched, or yet, impassible. Eye to eye, we endeavor to collect the emotions emerging on the faces of the watchers.

We look at those who look, watching our video. We try to read their emotions, in their immediacy. We modify their expressions by the mere act of our presence and the intensity of our gaze. We do not touch them physically, we address them no accusatory glance.

Our eye wants to be documentary and, at times, possibly empathetic. This scenario runs in a random way, depending on the emotional encounters. This performance format is meant to be an emotional and sensitive improvisation, a meeting with the public around another language, where words have no weight anymore, a shared moment, from deep within our work.

OW: What is the most difficult part of your work?

RB: Construction of each artwork ranges from the disconcerting facility of an obvious birth, excitement
and total exhaustion. What remains the most difficult for us is to show our work, due to the lack of resources, of appropriate places and to the current political, economical and cultural context.
Moreover, an event such as Dimanche Rouge is a miracle for visual artists who practice performance
art!

OW: When and why did you start working together?

RB: We met in November 2009. Our collaboration was committed by chance, during the preparation of [ LOVELY VIRGIN DOLLS: 7 Women’s Skins ], an installation performance which revealed our complementarities and raised our encounter for granted. Gilivanka was giving birth to her first performance and I (Barbara) proposed myself as an assistant. One thing led to another and I provided her with my technical and sensitive abilities in order to
construct the sound envelope of the performance. First common work, this installation performance carries within itself the items at the basis of all our
subsequent research: a cleverly considered aesthetic, minimalistic yet powerful; a subtle and haunting universe of sounds and visuals; a performative act that places the audience in the heart of the work, by the emerging use of participative processes. The [RED BIND] project was born from this first experiment.
We make it a point of honor to deal with issues related to our own personal experiences and to our history as women.
We favor a straight and anti-demagogic talk; a heightened and upright emotion; a sensitive language, understandable to all, inviting the viewer to free thinking.

OW: What other artists, writers or musicians inspire you?

RB: A few weeks ago, an artist called Tejal Shah made a deep impression on us at the Paris-Delhi-Bombay exhibition, at Centre Pompidou. Some of her work reflecting the theme of woman completely overturned us… Her website is: http://www.tejals.com

Other artists worth mentioning are: Bill Viola for his more than sensitive approach of video art; unsurprisingly, Marina Abramovic; Berlinde Bruyckere for the strangeness she creates in her sculptures; Andres Serrano for his vision of Beauty; the poetry of Giuseppe Penone; the strength of Louise Bourgeois; or Magdalena Abakanowicz’s memories of flesh…
As for musicians: Arvo Pärt’s suspended notes, the lightness of Ryuichi Sakamoto and other far less
subtle things! Gilivanka’s readings would be: Marguerite Duras, Yoko Ogawa, Wisława Szymborska, John Steinbeck
and a few dozen more…
And for Barbara: Emil Cioran, Pierre Desproges, Merleau Ponty, Bachelard, Shiki Masaoka and many
others.

OW: Would you like to add something?

RB: We’d just like to share a few thanks, opportunities to do so still being too rare… So thank you to the public, without whom what we do would simply be meaningless… What a feeling of intense life he provides us when vibrating with our art! Thanks to Opie Boero Imwinkelried for believing in us that way and for his invaluable support. Thank you for this so relevant interview. And to quote Barbara Streisand, thanks to our parents because if they had believed in us, we might have been happy with becoming as good as gold secretaries…

http://www.kedzior-friedman.org/

VJUNK aka Burcu Gündüz is a VJ from Turkey, founder and director of VJ Fest Istanbul. Her independent international VJ festival enriches the ways of Veejaying. Her visual work is colorful and emotional. The festival demonstrates how it can also be social by encouraging people to come together and share the experience.

VJUNK diğer adıyla BURCU GÜNDÜZ, Türkiye’den bir VJ, VJ Fest Istanbul’un kurucusu ve yönetmeni. Bağımsız uluslararası festival VJ’liğe yeni yollar bularak onu zenginleştiriyor ve sosyal bir eylem alanı olarak ortaya koyuyor. Festival bilgi ve zaman paylaşmak için arkadaşça bir toplantı. Vjunk’ın görsel işleri ise renkli ve duygusal.

Opie Boero Imwinkelried: Hello Burcu. Tell us, what it is to like organising a VJ festival in Istanbul, Turkey?

Opie Boero Imwinkelried: İstanbul, Türkiye’de VJ festivalini organize etmek nasıl?

Burcu Gündüz: Hello Opie. Running such an event is fun and full of little surprises. On one hand, Istanbul is an interesting place for VJs, so it is easy to gather many different artists. On the other, it is quite difficult because we have very little money and we don’t make it for profit. In four years only consulates, culture offices and the Middle East Technical University gave us support. We get most of the equipment from other VJs and friends. Artists mostly stay in my friends’ houses. The club owners and their expectations about the crowd are high and drinks are very expensive. Our audience is also quite small. I am responsible for everything and I like it, but it is very exhausting at the same time.

Burcu Gündüz: Çok eğlenceli ve süprizlerle dolu. Bir yandan İstanbul VJ’ler için ilginç bir yer ve çoğu eğlenmek için gelmek istiyor, bu yüzden farklı sanatçıları bir araya getirmek zor olmuyor. Diğer taraftan festivali yapmak bayağ güç çünkü bizim çok az paramız var ve bunu para için yapmıyoruz. Dört yılda sadece konsoloslukların, kültür ofislerinin ve Orta Dogu Teknik Universitesi’nin desteği oldu. Ekipmanları arkadaşlarımızdan topluyoruz, VJ’ler arkadaşlarımda kalıyorlar. Kulüplerle de çok iyi anlaşamıyoruz, seyirci kitlemizi beğenmiyorlar. Seyircimiz oldukça az tabi. İçki fiyatları da çok yüksek. Festivalle ilgili herşeyden ben sorumluyum, bu çok hoşuma gidiyor ama çok yorucu.

OI: What is the concept and philosophy of VJ Fest Istanbul?

OI: VJ Fest Istanbul’un kavramı ve felsefesi nedir?

BG : Our concept has derived from the sun and a CD. There was the light of the sun coming through a small window where we were making music. After putting a CD in front of the sunlight, we saw a rainbow on the wall. By putting the finger into the CD’s hole and bending it, we created images looking like 3D shadows. We were quite inspired by it. This was the concept and the starting point of VJ FEST. Our philosophy is all about friendship. A Festival is a gathering spot to share time and knowledge, as well as to collaborate freely. We want to make it as underground and open as it can be. VJ FEST demonstrates VJ-ing as a social act.

BG: Bizim kavramımız güneş ve bir CD’den çıktı diyebilirim. Hatta onu ilk iki posterimizde kullandık. Müzik yaptığımız odada küçük bir penceren güneş sızıyordu. Işığın önüne bir cd koyunca, duvarda gökkuşağı belirdi. Onla oynarken, parmagımızı CD deliğinin içine sokup eğip bükmeye başladık. Üç boyutlu gölge oyunu gibiydi. Bize ilham olan bu olay VJ FEST’in başlangıç noktası ve kavramsal yanı. Bizim felsefemiz arkadaşlıkla ilgili. Festival, zaman ve bilgiyi özgürce paylaşmak için bir toplantı. Onu olabildiğince açık ve alt-kültür olarak gerçekleştirmek istiyoruz. VJ FEST dört yıldır VJ’liği sosyal bir eylem olarak ortaya koyuyor.

OI: Could you tell us some numbers about the festival?

OI: Bize festival hakkında bazı sayılar verebilir misin?

BG: For four years we have worked with 58 VJs, 34 DJs-musicians and 2 academic workers from 20 countries: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Poland, Mexico, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine and United States.

BG: 20 ülkeden 58 VJ, 34 DJ ve müzisyen, 2 akademisyen. Bu ülkeler Almanya, Andorra, Avusturya, A.B.D., Belçika, Brazilya, Kanada, Finlandiya, Fransa, Hollanda, İsveç, İspanya, Italya, Japonya, Polonya, Macaristan, Meksika, Norveç, Türkiye, Ukrayna.

OI: How is the VJ scene in Istanbul and Turkey? How does it compare to the rest of Europe?

OI: İstanbul ve Türkiye’deki VJ’lerin faaliyet alanı nasıl? Avrupa’nın geri kalanına göre nasıl karşılaştırırsın?

BG: It is relatively small. There is not much communal activity of VJs in Turkey, whereas in Europe there are such collectives as vj finland, vjunion and flxer.net. There are limited places and venues for VJs to show their work in Istanbul. I think in Europe VJ art is developed and has a place in the society’s entertainment scene or art scene within clubs, galleries and streets, while in Turkey VJ is well-known only as a TV speaker. I think that after video mapping was popular, there were slightly more jobs available for VJs in Turkey. Other than that, visuals for other music types such as rock and synth-pop are developing to some extent. In Ankara and İzmir, there is a very poor VJ scene. In Antalya, in summer time with the growth of touristic population and clubbing, VJs are needed.

BG: Oldukça küçük. Türkiye’deki VJ’lerin ortaklaşa kurdukları bir oluşum yok, Avrupa’daki ülkelerde böyle oluşumlar var; vj finland, vjunion, flxer.net gibi. İstanbul’da VJ’lerin işlerini gösterebilecekleri yer ve mekanlar çok sınırlı. Avrupa’da VJ sanatının gelişmiş ve sosyal alanda tanınan bir yere sahip olduğunu düşünüyorum. Eğelence ve sanat alanında; kulüplerde, cesitli galerilerde ve sokaklarda. Türkiye’de VJ, sadece TV sunucusu olarak biliniyor. Bence video haritalama popülerleşince VJ’lerden istenen işler arttı. Bunun yanı sıra elektronik müzik dışındaki müzik türleri (rock ve synth-pop gibi) için yapılan görseller artıyor. Türkiye’nin diğer büyük şehirleri Ankara, İzmir’de daha fakir bir ortam var. Antalya’da da yazları büyüyen turistik kulüplerde işler var.

OI: Could you describe your VJ work and tell us about your current projects?

OI: VJ işlerinizi tanımlar mısınız ve güncel projelerinizi anlatır mısınız?

BG: My VJ work is a mix of alot of things in a very colorful way. I am often making my own loops from my drawings. Recently I am searching video activism. In June, we made mapping on a train at Cankırı station, in a small town in Anatolia. These days, i am talking with Visual Berlin members for future collaborations. We are in discussion to form an international VJ network to use European Funds.

BG: Benim VJ işim çöp, bir sürü şeyi birbirine renkli bir şekilde karıştırmayı seviyorum. Duygusal bir şekilde protesto yapıyorum. Resimlerimden video ve animasyonlar yapmaya başladım. Bu sıralar video aktivizmi araştırıyorum. Haziran’da Anadolu’nun küçük bir şehri Çankırı’nın tren istasyonundaki bir vagonu haritaladık. Bugünlerde Visual Berlin’le ileriki işbirlikleri için konuşuyoruz, Avrupa fonlarını kullanabileceğimiz uluslararası bir VJ ağı kurmak istiyoruz.

OI: You have been doing some mapping recently. Could you briefly explain what this is?

OI: Su sıralar haritalama yaptınız.Video haritalama nedir?

BG: Video mapping is to warp the video’s image surface onto a three dimensional object and give form to the video projection accordingly. Most of the time the main purpose is to create an illusion from the viewers point of view. We play with the real object and the image/video worn onto it. I think such attitude has changed the understanding of video and screen as well as expanded the ways of VJ-ing and its audience. It is an opportunity to play with the big architectural forms and illusions.

BG: Video haritalama videonun imaj yüzeyinin üç boyutlu bir nesne üzerine oturtulması ve video projeksiyonun nesneye göre şekillendirilmesidir. Bu nerdeyse üç boyutlu tüm şekilleri videonun yansıma yüzeyi olarak kullanılmasını sağlar, örn. mimari. Çoğu zaman amaç İzleyicinin bulunduğu konumdan izlenebilecek bir yanılsama yaratmaktır. Bence video haritalama video ve ekran anlayışını değiştirerek VJ’liğin çalışma alanını ve seyircisini genişletti. Mimari büyük formalarla oynamaya ve gerçek nesneyle üzerine yansıltılan resim ile göz yanılmaları yaratmaya olanak sağladı.

OI: Mapping has become very trendy, yet monumental mapping is expensive and not very environmentally friendly, since you need very powerful and expensive projectors. How does mapping help VJs communicate with their audience?

OI: Haritalama çok moda oldu, mimari haritalama çok pahalı ve ayrıca ekolojik olarak da çok dostça değil çünkü çok güçlü ve çok pahalı projeksiyon cihazlarına ihtiyacınız var. Haritalama VJ’lerin seyircisiyle olan iletişimine nasıl yardımcı oluyor?

BG: I find the big monumental mapping time consuming most of the time. However, mapping things in our environment can bring new communication skills for social responsibility. It can help VJs convey meaning about social issues easily because it happens outside on the street, where the real life is. VJ can play with the historical meanings, because architecture of the city can tell a lot about living in the past and how it influences us nowadays.

BG: Bence devasa anıtsal projeksiyonlar çoğu zaman para ve zaman kaybı. Gene de etrafımızdaki şeyleri haritalamak sosyal sorumluluk hakkında yeni iletişim becerileri geliştirmemizi sağlayabilir. VJ’ler sosyal konulardaki fikirlerini iletebilir çünkü gerçekleştiği yer dışarısı, sokak yani gerçek hayatın olduğu yer. Tarihsel anlamlarla oynayabilir çünkü şehrin mimarisi geçmiş ve bizi bugünlerde nasıl etkilediği hakkında çok şey anlatabilir.

OI: Your project EQ-Tech-Tive was shortlisted by Made (Mobility for Digital Arts in Europe) along with twenty other projects. Could you tell us about your project?

OI: Projeniz EQ-Tech-Tive, Made (Avrupa’daki Dijital Sanatlar için Hareketlilik) tarafindan ilk yirmi proje arasina alindi. Projenizi anlatır mısınız?

BG: It is actually my partner VJ Vidbeat; Temel Hüseyin Kuru’s project. I am co-producer of it. It is an interactive video installation upon a building. It is inspired by sound equalizer. Actually, it is a real equalizer in colors that light the building’s windows. It uses windows as the surface of equalizer, responding to the actual music and sound at the moment. It is made by Vdmx.

BG: Proje esasen ortağım VJ Vidbeat, Temel Hüseyin Kuru’ya ait, ben yardımcı yapımcıyım. Bina üzerine yapılan interaktif bir video enstalasyonu. Ses denkleştiriciden (equalizer) esinlenen bir iş. Bina üzerinde oynayan büyük bir equalizer, pencereleri kullanarak yapılan renkli bir video haritalama. O anki sese duyarlı olarak çalışıyor. Vdmx programıyla yapıldı.

OI: Which philosophers and thinkers inspire your work? Who are the artists you admire?

OI: Hangi filozof ve düşünürler işlerine ilham verir? Hayran olduğun sanatçılar kimler?

BG: Van Gogh, Alexandro Jodorovski, John Berger, Maksim Gorki, Rudolf Arnheim, Krishnamurti, Halil Gibran, William Blake…Video activist Scouap, VJ Kissdub, Microchunk…

BG: Van Gogh, Alexandro Jodorovski, John Berger, Maksim Gorki, Rudolf Arnheim, Krishnamurti, Halil Gibran, William Blake…Video activist Scouap, VJ Kissdub, Microchunk…

OI: Do you give people permission to use and modify your own work?

OI: İnsanların kendi işini kullanmalarına ve değiştirmelerine izin veriyor musun?

BG: Yes, I do. I will be happy about it. Just as I would like to use/modify other visual artists’ work, I understand the need to do it. I think using everything freely enriches the visual diversity and creativity.

BG: Evet, veriyorum. Mutlu olurum. Ben de diğer sanatçıların görsellerini değiştirip kullanıyorum, bu ihtiyacı anlıyorum. Bence her şeyin özgürce kullanılması görsel çeşitliliği ve yaratıcılığı arttırıyor.

OI: What is your VJ setup? Would you recommend any free and open source software?

OI: VJ kurulumun nedir? Herhangi bir bedava ve açık bir yazılım önerir misin?

BG: I use Resolume at my friend’s pc laptop (I don’t own a computer), though I want to work with linux in the future. I will search for new ways for visuals and lighting by using other tools. I recommend ‘mute’ as a video mixer and ‘pure data’ as a powerful tool.

BG: Arkadaşımın bilgisayarında Resolume kullanıyorum (benim bilgisayarım yok). İleride linux kullanmak istiyorum. Başka aletlerle görsel ve ışık yapmanın yollarını arayacağım. Video mikser olarak ‘mute’ ve güçlü bir program olarak ‘pure data’yı öneririm.

OI: What are your favorite websites?

OI: Gözde web sitelerin hangileri?

BG: Vimeo, youtube.

BG: Vimeo, youtube.

OI: What advice would you give to VJs just starting out?

OI: Yeni baslayan VJ’lere ne öneriler verirsin?

BG: I advice them not to imitate the other VJs’ using their software or styles. Ask yourself, what is your real need and ambition to show images? I recommend listening to the music carefully and thinking about how you feel and how you visualize it. I advice you start Vjing by doing your own material, good or bad.

BG: Başka VJ’leri, programları nasıl kullandıklarını veya stilleri taklit etmemeyi öneririm. İmajları göstermedeki gerçek ihtiyaç ve isteğin ne? Müziği dikkatli dinlemelerini ve onu nasil hissedip nasil gorsellestirdiklerini hayal etmeyi öneririm. Bence iyi veya kötü kendi yaptıkları malzemeleri kullanarak başlamalılar.

OI: Where are you performing next? Where can we see your work?

OI: Bir sonraki performansını nerede yapacaksın? Calışmanı nerede görebiliriz?

BG: I plan to show up at Isik University’s event this month in Istanbul by using transparent screens with my duo Bessumi. www.vimeo.com/vjunk

BG: Istanbul’da Işık Universitesi’nin etkinliğinde şeffaf ekranlar kullanarak ortağım Bessumi ile bir gösteri yapmayı planlıyorum. www.vimeo.com/vjunk

OI: How can we contact you?

OI: Sana nasıl ulaşabiliriz?

BG: My email address is burcugunduz@gmail.com. My Facebook profile is www.facebook.com/vjunk
Feel free to contact me.

BG: E-posta adresim burcugunduz@gmail.com. Bana çekinmeden yazabilirsiniz. Facebook adresim de www.facebook.com/vjunk.

OI: Is there something you would like to add?

OI: Eklemek istedigin birsey var mi?

BG: In the third year of VJ FEST, a deaf VJ calling himself Sign Jockey came (Hokin from France). He was a big surprise and inspired me in so many ways about overcoming the limits in VJing… Thank you Opie.

BG: VJ FEST’in üçüncü yılında sağır bir VJ geldi (Fransa’dan Hokin), kendisine SJ yani Isaret Jokeyi (Sign Jokey) diyor. Çok büyük bir süprizdi. Beni VJ’liğin limitleri hakkında heveslendirdi…Teşekkürler Opie.

OI: Thank you.

OI: Teşekkürler.

interviewed by Opie Boero Imwinkelried
translated by Tuy Nga Brignol (English/French), Teatro Deluxe (English/Italian)
The Italian collective Teatro Deluxe has been producing experimental performing artwork as well as videos and photographies since 2008 off Rome and Ravenna, Italy. This collective explores the meaning of the body and the connections between different media. Teatro Deluxe has shown their work widely in Italy, other European countries and the USA.
Opie Boero Imwinkelried
—

intervista realizzata da Opie Boero Imwinkelried
traduzione di Tuy Nga Brignol (Inglese/Francese), Teatro Deluxe (Inglese/Italiano)
Il collettivo italiano Teatro Deluxe si occupa dal 2008 di sperimentazione artistica nei campi della peformance dal vivo, del video e della fotografia, muovendosi fra Roma e Ravenna. Il gruppo esplora il corpo come significante e le connessioni tra i diversi media. Teatro Deluxe ha mostrato ampiamente il proprio lavoro in Italia, in altri paesi europei e negli Stati Uniti.
Opie Boero Imwinkelried
—

interview réalisé par Opie Boero Imwinkelried
traduit par Tuy Nga Brignol (Anglais/Français), Teatro Deluxe (Anglais/Italien)
Le collectif italien Teatro Deluxe avait produit depuis 2008, à titre expérimental, des oeuvres d’art aussi bien que des vidéos et des photographies de Rome et de Ravenne en Italie. Ce groupe explore la signification du corps et les connections entre les différents médias. Teatro Deluxe a largement montré le travail de son équipe, en Italie ainsi qu’à d’autres pays européens et aux Etats-Unis.
Opie Boero Imwinkelried
—

“I think it’s important not to lose the direction of own research, while remaining aware that being an artist is first and foremost a responsibility to every single viewer of our works. If what is created is not logically or emotionally needed for the people who create it, the artwork is unlikely to be stimulating for the audience.”
—

“Credo sia importante non perdere di vista la direzione della propria ricerca, rimanendo consapevoli che essere artisti è innanzitutto una responsabilità verso ogni singolo fruitore delle nostre opere. Se ciò che viene creato non è logicamente o emotivamente necessario per chi lo crea, difficilmente potrà essere stimolante per il pubblico. “
—

« Je pense qu’il est important de ne pas perdre de vue la direction de notre propre recherche, tout en restant conscient du fait qu’être artiste dépend en premier lieu de la responsabilité de n’importe quel observateur de nos oeuvres. Si ce qui est créé ne correspond pas à un besoin logique ou émotionnel de la personne qui l’a créée, l’œuvre a peu de chance d’être stimulant pour le public ».
—

Teatro Deluxe

Opie Boero Imwinkelried: Hello, I’ll start by asking you to introduce yourselves. How many people work at Teatro Deluxe and what is your history?
—

Opie Boero Imwinkelried: Buongiorno, inizierò chiedendovi di presentarvi. Quante persone lavorano in Teatro Deluxe e qual è la vostra storia?
—

Opie Boero Imwinkelried : Bonjour, tout d’abord je vais vous demander de vous présenter. Combien de personnes travaillent chez Teatro Deluxe et quelle est votre histoire ?
—

Teatro Deluxe: Teatro Deluxe is an independent and self-financed artistic research project that explores territories of photography, video and performance. Active since 2008 at international level, the group is formed in university thanks to the meeting of the two founders: Claudio Oliva author, filmmaker and photographer and Vera Michela Suprani author, performer and web communicator. Giulia Di Vincenzo, a young designer formed at the “Accademia di Belle Arti” (Academy of Fine Arts) in Rome, the composer and musician Alessandro Oliva and Valentina Vanja Suprani, help organizing: all of them cooperate closely with the group.
—

Teatro Deluxe: Teatro Deluxe è un progetto di ricerca artistica indipendente e autofinanziato che esplora i territori della fotografia, del video e della performance. Attivo dal 2008 a livello internazionale, il gruppo si forma in ambito universitario grazie all’incontro dei due fondatori: Claudio Oliva autore, regista e fotografo e Vera Michela Suprani autrice, performer e web communicator. Sono stretti collaboratori Giulia Di Vincenzo, giovane scenografa formatasi all’ Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma, il musicista Alessandro Oliva e Valentina Vanja Suprani, aiuto organizzatrice.
—
Teatro Deluxe: Teatro Deluxe est un projet de recherche artistique indépendant et autofinancé qui explore divers domaines tels que la photographie, la vidéo et les représentations. Actif depuis 2008 au niveau international, le groupe s’est formé à l’université suite à la rencontre de deux fondateurs : l’auteur Claudio Oliva, réalisateur de film et photographe, et l’auteur Vera Michela Suprani, interprète et communicateur Internet. Giulia Di Vincenzo, un jeune concepteur formé chez « Accademia di Belle Arti » (Académie des Beaux-Arts) à Rome, le compositeur et musicien Alessandro Oliva et Valentina Vanja Suprani, contribuent à l’organisation : tous coopèrent étroitement avec le groupe.

OI: Could you please briefly tell us about your latest projects?
—

OI: Potreste raccontarci brevemente i vostri ultimi progetti?
—

OI : Pourriez-vous svp nous parler brièvement de vos derniers projets ?
—

TD: We are working on the performative project Greeting from Coney Island, which could be summarized as the suggestion of a place told through a body. Currently we prefer to work in non-theatrical spaces such as galleries, museums, houses and urban settings (just on the street Greetings was represented during the Dimanche Rouge # 4) with the aim of giving this body back to reality, choosing every time the most suitable place. It’s very interesting for us, challenging and required the audience reaction that occurs when we present in this way Greetings.
There are also two new photo projects. The first is entitled “Randycat” and consists of three images of women on a roof in New York: the work is characterized as a reasoning by images on the decadence and the desire for rebirth of the city symbol of the USA. The second project, “Gothique”, was born from the will of the group to investigate the real even through the testing of new representation devices: so, a hostel of the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona becomes the theater for a series of photos taken with a modern smartphone. Symbol device of lightning contemporary communication (voice, video, photos, Internet), this tool proves to be increasingly the real, modern snapshots camera.
—
TD: Stiamo lavorando al progetto perfomativo Greeting from Coney Island, che potremmo sintetizzare come la suggestione di un luogo raccontata attraverso un corpo. Attualmente prediligiamo per il lavoro spazi non teatrali quali: gallerie, musei, abitazioni e ambientazioni urbane (proprio in strada è stata rappresentata nel corso della Dimanche Rouge #4) con la finalità di restituire questo corpo al reale, scegliendo di volta in volta il luogo più adatto. E’ per noi molto interessante, stimolante e necessaria la reazione che il pubblico manifesta quando presentiamo Greetings in questo modo.
Vi sono poi due progetti fotografici. Il primo ha per titolo “Randycat” ed è costituito da tre immagini di donne su un tetto di New York, il lavoro si connota come una riflessione per immagini sulla decadenza ed il desiderio di rinascita della città simbolo degli USA; il secondo progetto, “Gothique”, è invece nato dalla volontà del gruppo di indagare il reale anche attraverso la sperimentazione di nuovi dispositivi di rappresentazione: ecco dunque che un ostello del Barrio Gotico di Barcellona diviene teatro per una serie di scatti realizzati con un moderno smartphone: dispositivo simbolo della fulminea comunicazione contemporanea (voce, video, foto, internet), questo strumento si dimostra sempre più in grado di essere il vero apparecchio per catturare istantanee.
—
TD : Nous travaillons sur le projet de la représentation Greetings de Coney Island, qui pourrait être résumée comme la suggestion d’un endroit révélé à travers un corps. Actuellement nous préférons travailler dans des espaces non-théâtraux tels que les galeries, les musées, les maisons et les environnements urbains (Greetings a été représenté juste dans la rue pendant le Dimanche Rouge # 4) avec le but de ramener de nouveau ce corps à la réalité, en choisissant à chaque fois l’endroit le plus approprié. Il est très intéressant pour nous de provoquer et d’exiger la réaction du public quand nous présentons de cette façon Greetings.
Il y a également deux nouveaux projets de photo. Le premier porte comme titre « Randycat » et se compose de trois images de femmes sur un toit à New York : le travail est défini comme un raisonnement par images sur la décadence et le désir de renaissance de la ville-symbole des Etats-Unis. Le deuxième projet, « Gothique », est né de la volonté du groupe à étudier le vrai, même à travers le test de nouveaux dispositifs de représentation : ainsi, une pension du Gothique Quarter de Barcelone est devenue le théâtre pour une série de photos prises avec un smartphone moderne. Symbole de la communication éclair contemporaine (voix, vidéo, photos, Internet), cet outil s’avère être de plus en plus le vrai appareil-photo moderne de prises instantanées.
—
OI: Could you explain how you transition among different media–still photos, video and theater?
—

OI: Potreste spiegare come avviene la transizione fra i diversi media foto, video e teatro?
—

OI : Pourriez-vous expliquer comment vous voguez entre les différents médias tels que photos, vidéo et théâtre ?
—

TD: The starting point is certainly our sensibility. The first step is to feel which medium would best adhere to our requirements about an idea, for a project, or simply a feeling. Happens that this pressure does not end with the creation of a work by one of the tools we use but, rather, the result did nothing but stimulate the production of a work complementary to the first, in which is precisely the different representation device, and especially the different problems and opportunities related to its use, to build the engine for a broader and deeper development of the subject matter.
—
TD: Il punto di partenza è certamente la nostra sensibilità. Il primo passo consiste cioè nel sentire quale medium potrebbe meglio aderire alle nostre esigenze riguardo ad una data idea, ad un dato progetto, o più semplicemente ad una sensazione. Succede che questa spinta non venga ad esaurirsi con la realizzazione di un lavoro attraverso uno degli strumenti che utilizziamo ma che, anzi, il risultato non faccia altro che stimolare la produzione di un’opera complementare alla prima, in cui è proprio il diverso dispositivo di rappresentazione, ed in particolar modo le differenti problematiche ed opportunità connesse al suo utilizzo, a costituire il motore per uno sviluppo più ampio e profondo del soggetto trattato.
—
TD : Le point de départ est certainement notre sensibilité. La première étape est de juger, pour un projet donné, quel est le meilleur média qui conviendrait à nos exigences au sujet d’une idée, ou c’est tout simplement un ressenti. Il arrive que cette pression ne s’arrête pas avec la création de l’oeuvre par un des outils utilisés mais par contre, le résultat obtenu contribue à stimuler la production d’une autre oeuvre complémentaire à la première, réalisée justement avec un autre type d’outil de représentation, et plus particulièrement les différents problèmes et opportunités liés à son utilisation permettent d’élaborer le moteur pour un développement plus large et plus profond du thème.
—

OI: In “Faceless, “you speak about femininity and portray the female body without faces. This strategy tends to disperse or diffuse the gaze towards a multiplicity of elements instead of directing it to a single point. This reminds me of the conception of the female body of philosopher Luce Irigaray, who points out that the female body challenges binary oppositions of the visible and the invisible–the presence and the lack, opposing a multiplicity to the one, the unity of the penis. Irigaray states, “The phallogocentric system generates many binary oppositions; one of which is: penis/vagina/nothing/clitoris/labia. In this binary, the penis is privileged over both zero and multiples. So the opposite of the penis is many different things.”
—

OI: In “Faceless” voi parlate di femminilità e ritraete il corpo femminile senza volto. Questa strategia tende a disperdere o diffondere lo sguardo verso una molteplicità di elementi, invece di concentrarlo in un unico punto. Ciò mi ricorda la concezione del corpo femminile della filosofa Luce Irigaray, la quale rileva come il corpo femminile sfidi le opposizioni binarie del visibile e dell’invisibile, la presenza e l’assenza, opponendo una molteplicità all’uno, all’untià del pene. Afferma Irigaray :” Il sistema fallogocentrico genera molte opposizioni binarie, una delle quali è: pene / vagina / niente / clitoride / labbra. In questa opposzione, il pene è in un rapporto privilegiato con lo zero e con i multipli. Quindi l’opposto del pene è molte cose diverse”.
—

OI : Dans “Faceless,” vous parlez de la féminité et dépeignez le corps de la femme sans les visages. Cette stratégie tend à disperser ou à étaler le regard vers une multiplicité d’éléments au lieu de le diriger vers un point unique. Cela me rappelle la conception du corps féminin par le philosophe Luce Irigaray, qui souligne que le corps de la femme est un défi d’oppositions binaires du visible et de l’invisible – de la présence et de l’absence, opposant la multiplicité à l’unité, l’unité du pénis. Irigaray affirme que “le système phallogocentrique engendre de multiples oppositions binaires, dont celle-ci : pénis/vagin/rien/clitoris/lèvres. Dans cette relation binaire, le pénis est privilégié par rapport à zéro et aux multiples en même temps. Ainsi l’opposé du pénis correspond à de multiples choses différentes.“
—

TD: I suppose it is correct, in our works (Faceless Project, Feminea – I Animazione), talk about the female body as “contemporary body”, the starting point on which to base an argument as much as possible modern. Hiding the face, we tried to focus attention on the communicative potential of the body, aware that this issue itself goes beyond the gender differences; the use of women’s bodies only is an aesthetic choice that prepares for further arguments about the status of women in the world of image, with particular reference at the unattainability of the proposed models.
—
TD: Suppongo sia corretto, nei nostri lavori, (Faceless, Feminea – I Animazione), parlare del corpo femminile come “corpo contemporaneo”, il punto di partenza su cui fondare un ragionamento quanto più possibile moderno. Nascondendo il volto, abbiamo cercato di porre l’attenzione sul potenziale comunicativo del corpo, consci che questo tema di per sé va oltre le differenze di genere; nell’utilizzo di corpi esclusivamente femminili c’è una scelta estetica che pone le basi per ulteriori ragionamenti sulla condizione della donna nel mondo dell’immagine, con particolare riferimento all’irraggiungibilità dei modelli proposti.
—
TD : Je suppose qu’il est correct, dans nos oeuvres (Projet Sans Visage, Feminea – I Animazione), de parler du corps féminin en tant que « corps contemporain », le point de départ à partir duquel est basé un argument autant que possible moderne. En cachant le visage, nous avons essayé de focaliser l’attention sur le potentiel communicatif du corps, conscients du fait que cette caractéristique elle-même va au-delà des différences liées au sexe. L’utilisation des corps féminins sans visages est un choix esthétique qui amène à d’autres arguments sur le statut des femmes dans le monde de l’image, avec la référence particulière à l’inaccessibilité des modèles proposés.
—

OI: In “Greetings from Coney Island” and “Imperfetta Solitudine,” you explore female prostitution. Could you tell us about Francesca da Polenta?
—

OI: In “Greetings from Coney Island” ed “Imperfetta Solitudine” esplorate la prostituzione femminile. Potete parlarci di Francesca da Polenta?
—

OI : Dans « Greetings from Coney Island » et « Imperfetta Solitudine, » vous explorez la prostitution féminine. Pourriez-vous nous parler de Francesca da Polenta?
—

TD: The character of the performance Greetings from Coney Island is a prostitute to the extent that represents, embodies one of the most flourishing activities in contradictory and fascinating New York City’s Coney Island, the neighborhood birthplace of the project. What we have tried to achieve through this figure, it was returning the suggestions received during our stay in those places. Mixed feelings, attraction, repulsion, and the mystery of this territory by the sea that can accommodate, over time, one of the oldest amusement parks in the United States, a popular Freak Show, and that can be land of criminal organizations involved in the smuggling of drugs and prostitution. It ‘s also, always, the people beach. We liked that these feelings, this place relived in her, she became the place. Doesn’t matter if the audience knows or not the history of Coney Island, is sufficient for that just a few traces of its mutilated charm arrive to them.
Francesca da Polenta was not a prostitute, actually. She was a medieval noblewoman, daughter of the lord of Ravenna. In the fifth canto of Inferno Dante says that she, the unhappy wife of Gianciotto Malatesta, had an affair with Paolo Malatesta, the husband’s brother. This caused the death of the two lovers, killed by Gianciotto itself.
In the video “Imperfetta Solitudine” (Imperfect Loneliness) Francesca, catapulted in outskirts of Ravenna today, is a being who wanders on the roadside in the impossible search for lost love. Talking about pictures we can say that her loneliness, her unbridgeable inner emptiness, together with her clothing clearly inadequate to the environment in which it stands, are signs of a path that we have imagined of moral and social decay. In this way, the idea that here Francesca probably looks like a prostitute is closely associated to the fact that she, as a result of her “sin”, has been accused of being that.
—
TD: Il personaggio della perfomance Greetings from Coney Island è una prostituta nella misura in cui rappresenta, o meglio incarna una delle attività fiorenti nel contraddittorio e suggestivo quartiere newyorkese di Coney Island, luogo di nascita del progetto. Quello che abbiamo cercato di realizzare, attraverso questa figura, è stato restituire le suggestioni ricevute durante la permanenza in quei luoghi. Sensazioni contrastanti, di attrazione, mistero e repulsione per quel territorio in riva al mare capace di ospitare, nel corso del tempo, uno dei più antichi luna park degli Stati Uniti, un rinomato Freak Show, ed essere terra di organizzazioni criminali dedite allo spaccio di droga ed alla prostituzione. E’ inoltre, da sempre, la spiaggia del popolo. Ecco, a noi piaceva che queste sensazioni, che questo luogo rivivesse in lei, che ella divenisse il luogo. Poco importa che il pubblico sappia o no della storia di Coney Island, a noi basta che arrivi qualche traccia del suo fascino mutilato.
Francesca da Polenta non era una prostituta, in effetti. Ella era una nobildonna mediavale, figlia del signore di Ravenna. Racconta Dante nel quinto canto dell’Inferno che ella, già moglie infelice di Gianciotto Malatesta, ebbe una relazione adultera Paolo Malatesta, il fratello del marito. Questo causò la morte dei due amanti per mano dello stesso Gianciotto.
Nel video Imperfetta Solitudine Francesca, catapultata nella periferia ravennate di oggi, è un essere che vaga sul ciglio della strada alla impossibile ricerca del perduto amore. Parlando delle immagini si può dire che la sua solitudine, il suo incolmabile vuoto interiore sono, unitamente, al suo abbigliamento palesemente inadeguato all’ambiente in cui si trova, segni di un percorso che noi abbiamo immaginato di degrado. In questo senso, probabilmente l’idea che qui Francesca sembri una prostituta è strettamente associabile al fatto che ella, a causa del suo peccato, sia stata accusata di esserlo.
—
TD : L’actrice de “Greetings from Coney Island” est une prostituée dans la mesure où elle représente et incarne l’une des activités les plus florissantes de la fascinante et contradictoire Coney Island de la ville de New York, à proximité de l’endroit où est né le projet. Ce que nous avons essayé de réaliser par cette actrice correspondait aux impressions ressenties pendant notre séjour dans ces endroits-là. Sentiments mitigés d’attraction et de répulsion, et le mystère de ce territoire marin qui possède, à travers le temps, un des parcs d’attractions les plus anciens des Etats-Unis, une manifestation populaire, le Freak Show qui peut être la terre d’accueil d’organismes criminels impliqués dans le trafic de drogues et dans la prostitution. C’est également, comme toujours, des gens de la plage. Nous avons apprécié que ces sentiments, cet endroit reprennent vie en elle; elle est devenue symbole de l’endroit. Qu’importe si l’histoire de Coney Island soit connue ou pas par le public, il suffit que juste quelques traces de son charme mutilé puisse arriver à l’assistance.
Polenta da Francesca n’était pas réellement une prostituée. Elle était une femme noble de l’époque médiévale, fille du seigneur de Ravenne. Le cinquième chant de l’Inferno Dante indique qu’elle, épouse malheureuse de Gianciotto Malatesta, a eu une liaison avec Paolo Malatesta, le frère du mari. Cela fut la cause de la mort des deux amants, tués par Gianciotto lui-même.
Dans la vidéo « Imperfetta visuel Solitudine » (Solitude Imparfaite) Francesca, catapultée aujourd’hui à la périphérie de Ravenne, est un personnage qui erre sur le bord de la route à la recherche impossible de l’amour perdu. En parlant d’images, nous pouvons dire que sa solitude, son vide intérieur insondable, ainsi que son mode d’habillement totalement inadapté à l’environnement dans lequel elle vit, sont des indices de la voie de décadence morale et sociale que nous avons imaginée. Ainsi, l’idée que Francesca soit assimilée à une prostituée est étroitement associée au fait qu’elle a été accusée d’en être une, en raison de son « péché ».
—

OI: How is it like to be experimental artists in Italy today? Could you mention some advantages and disadvantages compared with other European countries?
—

OI: Com’è essere artisti sperimentali oggi in Italia? Potreste citare alcuni vantaggi e svantaggi rispetto ad altri paesi europei?
—

OI : Comment sont les artistes expérimentaux en Italie aujourd’hui ? Pourriez-vous mentionner quelques avantages et inconvénients comparés à d’autres pays européens ?
—

TD: Being an artist in Italy today is difficult and very stimulating at the same time. The difficulty in raising money and in entering into quite closed circuits are worrisome aspects, but it is equally troubling to be still and sit on our own positions just denouncing the system weakness without trying new ways through creativity, even going into new territories. The artist’s task is also the following: to experiment on himself possible new routes. So I think that the moments of crisis can, rather should also be opportunities to look forward. In our humble opinion, of course.
We do not know enough about the situation in other European countries to be able to draw up a list of just talk about advantages and disadvantages. I know there are nations more aware of Italy in supporting cultural production and diffusion; speaking with artists of different nationalities increasingly emerge, on the other hand, a common feeling of inadequacy of the states in their ability and willingness to attention to the people who produce intangible assets.
—
TD: Essere artisti in Italia oggi è difficile e molto stimolante. La difficoltà nel reperire denaro e nell’inserirsi all’interno di circuiti abbastanza chiusi sono aspetti preoccupanti, ma è altrettanto preoccupante rimanere seduti e fermi sulle proprie posizioni limitandosi a denunciare le carenza del sistema senza mettere in moto la creatività per cercare di trovare nuove strade, di andare verso nuovi territori. Il compito dell’artista è anche questo: sperimentare su se stesso possibili nuove vie. Per questo credo che i momenti di crisi possano, anzi dovrebbero essere anche opportunità per guardare avanti.
Non conosco abbastanza la situazione degli altri paesi europei da poter stilare una lista di vantaggi e svantaggi. So che ci sono nazioni più attente dell’Italia nel sostenere la produzione e la diffusione culturale; dalla mia esperienza di confronto con artisti di varie nazionalità emerge sempre più, d’altro canto una comune sensazione di inadeguatezza degli stati nella loro capacita e volontà di attenzione nei confronti di chi produce beni immateriali.
—
TD : Être artiste en Italie est de nos jours à la fois difficile et très stimulant. La difficulté de gagner de l’argent et l’entrée dans des circuits tout à fait fermés sont les aspects préoccupants, mais c’est également troublant de ne pas bouger et d’être campé sur nos propres positions à dénoncer uniquement la faiblesse du système sans essayer d’emprunter de nouvelles voies par la créativité, en allant même vers de nouveaux territoires. La tâche de l’artiste est également celle-ci : expérimenter soi-même les nouvelles voies possibles. Ainsi je pense que les moments de crise, peuvent, ou plutôt devraient également être, des opportunités pour regarder vers l’avant. À notre humble avis, évidemment.
Concernant la situation dans d’autres pays européens, nous ne connaissons pas assez pour pouvoir dresser une liste valable sur les avantages et inconvénients. Je sais qu’il y a des pays plus avertis que l’Italie pour soutenir la production et la diffusion culturelles. D’autre part, lors des discussions avec des artistes de différentes nationalités, émerge de plus en plus, dans différents pays, un sentiment unanime d’insuffisance de moyens et de volonté à l’égard des personnes qui produisent les biens non tangibles.
—
OI: How do you fund your work?
—

OI: Come finanziate il vostro lavoro?
—

OI : Comment financez-vous votre travail ?
—

TD: Through small fees or expense reimbursement for participation in exhibitions and festivals, and trying to relate with people and institutions that can support our work in various ways: by a year, for example, we are one of resident groups at Kollatino Underground space in Rome, one of the most careful realities to the production and artistic experimentation in the city.
—
TD: Attraverso piccoli compensi o rimborsi spese per la partecipazione a rassegne e festival, e cercando di relazionarci con persone ed enti che possano sostenere a vario titolo il nostro lavoro: da un anno a questa parte, ad esempio, siamo uno dei gruppi residenti presso lo spazio Kollatino Underground di Roma, una delle realtà più attente alla produzione ed alla sperimentazione artistica presenti in città.
—
TD : Par de petits honoraires ou remboursement de dépenses pour la participation aux expositions et aux festivals, et par des tentatives de rapprochement auprès des personnes et établissements susceptibles de soutenir notre travail de diverses manières : pour l’année, par exemple, nous sommes l’un de groupes résidant à l’espace souterrain du métro Kollatino à Rome, une des réalités les plus soignées de la production et de l’expérimentation artistique dans la ville.
—

OI: What advice would you give to other experimental artists?
—

OI: Quale consiglo date ad altri artisti sperimentali?
—

OI : Quels conseils donneriez-vous à d’autres artistes expérimentaux ?
—

TD: I think it’s important not to lose the direction of own research, while remaining aware that being an artist is first and foremost a responsibility to every single viewer of our works. If what is created is not logically or emotionally needed for the people who create it, the artwork is unlikely to be stimulating for the audience.
—
TD: Credo sia importante non perdere di vista la direzione della propria ricerca, rimanendo consapevoli che essere artisti è innanzitutto una responsabilità verso ogni singolo fruitore delle nostre opere. Se ciò che viene creato non è logicamente o emotivamente necessario per chi lo crea, difficilmente potrà essere stimolante per il pubblico.
—
TD : Je pense qu’il est important de ne pas perdre de vue la direction de notre propre recherche, tout en restant conscient qu’être artiste dépend en premier lieu de la responsabilité de n’importe quel observateur de nos oeuvres. Si ce qui est créé ne correspond pas à un besoin logique ou émotionnel de la personne qui l’a créée, l’œuvre a peu de chance d’être stimulant pour le public.
—
OI: Where are you performing next? Where can we see your work?
—

OI: Quale consiglo date ad altri artisti sperimentali?
—

OI : Où allez-vous présenter après ? Où pouvons-nous voir votre travail ?
—

TD: We are going to perform in Rimini in the end of July, at C_A_P 03 AZIONI DI DANZA SU STRADA, a street performing art festival where we‘ll present Greetings from Coney Island.
We are also preparing a project to replicate this performance on the outskirts of Rome, so as to follow, renewing it every time, to the synthesis of places and bodies so important for our research.
—
TD: Saremo il 30 luglio a Rimini presso C_A_P 03 AZIONI DI DANZA SU STRADA, un festival di arti performative in urbano dove presenteremo Greetings from Coney Island.
Stiamo inoltre preparando un progetto che prevede la circuitazione di questa performance nelle periferie d Roma, così da dar seguito, rinnovandola ogni volta, a quella sintesi fra luoghi e corpi così vicina al nostro percorso di ricerca.
—

TD : Nous irons à Rimini fin juillet, à C_A_P 03 AZIONI DI DANZA SU STRADA, un festival d’art du spectacle de rue où nous allons présenter Greetings de Coney Island.
Nous sommes en train de préparer également un projet qui va reprendre cette prestation à la périphérie de Rome, en la renouvelant à chaque fois, pour donner suite à la synthèse des endroits et des corps, si importante à notre recherche.
—

OI: How can we contact you?
—

OI: Come possiamo contattarvi?
—

OI : Comment pouvons-nous vous contacter ?
—

TD: On our website http://www.teatrodeluxe.org you can find information about us and our work.
For each section (video – photography – performance/theater) there is a description of the projects accompanied by pictures and video content to help visitors fruition.
—
TD: Sul nostro sito www.teatrodeluxe.org si possono trovare informazioni su di noi e sul nostro lavoro. Per ogni sezione (video-fotografia-performance/teatro) è presente una descrizione dei progetti corredata da immagini e contenuti video per aiutare il visitatore nella fruizione.
—
TD : Sur notre site Internet http://www.teatrodeluxe.org, vous pouvez trouver des informations sur notre groupe et notre travail. Pour chaque section (vidéo – photographie – exécution/théâtre), il y a une description des projets accompagnés d’images et de vidéos pour renseigner concrètement les visiteurs.
—
OI: Is there something you would like to add?
—

OI: C’è qualcos’altro che desiderate aggiungere?
—

OI : Y a-t-il autre chose que vous souhaitez ajouter ?
—

TD: We would like to thank Dimanche Rouge for giving us the opportunity to present our work for the first time in Paris in a very intimate, friendly and available at the meeting and confrontation setting.
—
TD: Vorremmo ringraziare Dimanche Rouge per averci concesso l’opportunità di presentare il nostro lavoro per la prima volta a Parigi in un ambiente molto intimo, cordiale e disponibile all’incontro ed al confronto.
—
TD: Nous souhaitons remercier Dimanche Rouge de nous avoir donné l’occasion de présenter notre travail pour la première fois à Paris dans un endroit très intime, amical et propice à la rencontre et à la confrontation.
—

59 Rivoli @ 4pm

ONE is a performance that may take
ONE lifetime
ONE person sitting opposite
ONE person
there is ONE exchange
ONE sample of DNA is collected
if desired ONE sample of DNA is exchanged
this will happen ONE million times
until ONE million samples have been collected
once ONE million samples
from ONE million people have been collected, each DNA sample will be imaged and from ONE million DNA images
ONE will be made
a composite of all becoming ONE

This century, will we genetically modify food, pets, our children, ourselves? Information and sharing information is reaching immense speeds and saturation, but what happens to that grey area between public and private?
When are our bodies our own, and when are we the property of the global social corpus?
Living in times where we rarely put ourselves in situations where we need to trust each other, and in most cases given more reason to distrust, will you trust me with your most intimate material?

Your DNA?
ONE cannot exist without you.

ONE is a durational work by Rebecca Cunningham and all of you.

The work was first presented at the Brisbane Festival, Under the Radar in 2011,
and since has been presented in Sydney, LA, New York, USA & Łódz, Poland.

Most recently, ONE has been in residence at The Queensland State Library:
The Edge and presented during National Science Week.

ONE will not end until one million samples of DNA have been collected, and one image made, a composite of all.

interviewed by Opie Boero Imwinkelried

Opie Boero Imwinkelried - You are a composer and a multimedia artist, producing performances as well as installations. Could you start by briefly telling us about your work?

Opie Boero Imwinkelried - Tu es compositeur et artiste multimédia, tu produit des performances mais aussi des installations. Peux-tu brièvement nous parler de ton travail ?

Florent Colautti - I compose electronic music for live performances and recorded media. I also write scores for ensembles and musicians. Yet, some of my work is also for dancers and sound installation. Generally, my work develops on interactivity, gestures and behavior way.

Florent Colautti - Mon travail voyage entre des compositions électroniques, en performance live ou sur support, l’écriture de partition pour des ensembles ou musicien(s) et quelques projets avec des danseurs ou des installations. Généralement, mon travail a des directions intéractives, des applications gestuelles et des chemins comportementaux.

OI: You were born in the Landes forest. This is one of my favorite places on the planet, the Atlantic coast and the pine forest. Does nature have a role in your work?

OI: Tu es originaire de la forêt Landaise. C’est un de mes endroits préférés sur la planète, la côte Atlantique et la forêt de pins. La nature a t’elle un rôle dans ton travail ?

FC: Not specially the forest or the Atlantic Ocean, but yes, I am very sensitive to nature and the environment. If they have an impact on my work ? Sure! Nature inspires me and my work always has something like a living entity.

FC: Pas spécialement la forêt ou l’océan atlantique, mais oui, j’ai une sensibilité envers la nature et l’environnement. Si cela a un impact sur mon travail ? C’est sûr ! La nature m’inspire et mon travail a quelque chose de vivant.

OI: You studied architecture and, later on, building restoration. What is the impact of these studies on your artwork?

OI: Tu as étudié l’architecture et ensuite la restauration du patrimoine. Quel est l’impact de ces études dans ton travail artistique?

FC: The impact is twofold, my relationship with space and having a three-dimensional view of space. These studies have also helped me with my construction skills. I am someone who likes manual work very much. I like to build my own tools –definitely, not someone looking for the latest technology; I find some old tools to be the ones of the best quality. In my restoration work, I used to work with lime. I find this material really pleasant to touch.

FC: Je pense que cela a deux impacts: premièrement, la relation à “l’espace” et aussi une “représentation de l’espace” dans ses trois dimensions. Et deuxièmement, l’action de fabriquer, de construire. Je suis un gars manuel. J’apprécie de construire mes propres outils. Pour la restauration, je ne suis pas quelqu’un qui court après les dernières technologies, et je trouve que certains vieux outils ou matériaux sont de meilleures qualités que ceux que l’on peut trouver actuellement. Quand je travaillais en restauration je manipulais la chaux et je trouve ce matériel très agréable.

OI: Your performance “Eclipse” at Dimanche Rouge made us very curious about the way images and sound interacted. Could you explain how all this works?

OI: OI – Ta performance “Eclipse” présenté a Dimanche Rouge a eveillé notre curiosité par le rapport d’interactivité entre images et son.

FC: This performance is an audiovisual project where sound and visual are intrinsically linked. They are linked to a physical structure, a model. These physical structures are the instrument itself, an audiovisual instrument. With these physical structures, I imitate some aspects of reality. I embody a string, a cloth, a vibrating skin and many other elements. The physical structures send movement properties–data. The speed always corresponds to the sound level. Other links are more elaborate, including wave tables, pitch control, and reading a segment of a sound. I use this data to create organic and living sound, electronic and abstract material. I don’t control the sound directly but the physical properties of the model do. I can only excite or appease, applying forces or resistances. For instance, with an instrument if the masses move linearly, the sound is closer to a straight frequency, but if the movement is chaotic, the sound is rather like noise.

FC: Cette performance est un projet audio-visuel où sons et images sont liés. Ils sont liés à une structure en modèles physiques qui est en dessous, qui est le “moteur” de ce qui se passe en surface, de ce que l’on voit et entend. Je simule une part de réalité. Je représente une corde, une voile, une peau vibrante ou autres. La structure envoie des propriétés du mouvement, des données. La vitesse étant toujours le volume sonore. Les autres liens sont plus élaborés. Créer une table d’onde, un contrôle des hauteurs, lire une partie d’un son. J’utilise ces données pour créer des sons organiques et vivants, des matériaux électronique et abstrait. Je ne contrôle pas directement le son mais les propriétés physiques du modèle comme la masse, la rigidité, la vélocité. J’excite ou je calme, j’applique des forces ou des résistances. Cela amène des variations dans le caractère sonore. Par exemple dans un instrument, si le déplacement des masses forme une ligne, le son se rapproche d’une fréquence pure, si le déplacement est désordonné il se rapprochera d’un bruit blanc.

OI: I am particularly interested in the role of the body in your work. You have collaborated with dance companies and have produced at least one rather haptic installation called “Presences,” an interaction with people’s feet and the ground, focusing on the lowest part of the body. Many Western artists and philosophers tend to despise the lower parts of the body and earthly spaces, and revere the opposite. What are your thoughts about this? Could you tell us about the relevance of the body in your work?

OI: Je suis particulièrement intéressé par le rôle du corps dans ton travail. Tu as collaboré avec une compagnie de danse et a produit une installation tactile qui s’appelle ”Présences”, en interaction avec les pieds des gens et le sol, centré sur la partie inférieure du corps. Quelques artistes occidentaux et des philosophes ont tendance à dédaigner cette partie du corps, l’espace au sol, et revendiquent l’opposé. Que penses-tu de cela ?
Peux-tu nous parler de l’intérêt du corps dans ton travail ?

FC: The body has a big place in my work. First, when you play a musical instrument, you engage your muscles and all your body. Sound is the result of your gesture. In electronic music I try to imitate this, to create physical action, and not to limit my performance to the movement of a mouse, a fader or pushing a button to trigger a sound. I like to use acousmatic music as a reference since they use the term “sound body” to call an object that generates sound, like a bell, paper or anything that we can manipulated to create sound.
Dance is a bit different and dancers have a different approach since they don’t use instruments. They translate. The dancer’s body sings with gestures and the beauty of movement. When I work with them, I try to amplify their expressions or/and to link their gestures to sound. The body is very expressive–look at people when they walk on street! For my installations, I mostly focus on immersion in a given space, people’s reactions or demeanours, movement or stillness, like an observing eye. In “Presences”, microphones are hidden behind the paintings to record ambiance sound. At the same time there is a special carpet with sensors reacting to peoples’ movements. If people walk, the carpet generates certain sounds, if they stand still, they generate other sort of sounds.

FC: Le corps a une grande place dans mon travail. En premier pour jouer la musique. Quand vous (ou moi) jouez un instrument, on a un geste physique, les muscles sont impliqués et même tout votre corps. Le son est le résultat de votre geste. En musique électronique j’essaie de reproduire cela, avoir une action physique non limitée à bouger une souris, un fader ou appuyer sur un bouton et lancer un son. J’aime à prendre référence à la musique acousmatique qui emploie le terme de “corps sonore”, on dit ça pour un objet sonore comme une cloche, un papier ou n’importe quoi qui est manipulé pour créer du son.
Avec la danse c’est un peu différent et les danseurs ont une approche différente. Il n’y a pas d’instruments. C’est une “traduction”. Le corps d’un danseur “chante” par le geste, par la beauté du mouvement. J’essaie d’amplifier cela et/ou de lier des sons aux gestes. Le corps a une forme expressive, regardez les gens marcher dans la rue !!!
Pour les installations, je me concentre plus aux gens dans l’espace, les réactions et comportements, déplacements ou positions fixes, comme un oeil qui observe. J’essaie de construire des relations avec cela. Dans “Présences”, des micros sont cachés derrière des tableaux et enregistrent le son du lieu. Un tapis sensitif renvoi le son quand les gens marchent dessus. Mais la retransmission est différente si les gens restent fixes, s’ils se déplacent, suivant le déplacement.

OI: In your bio, you mention your mother, a music teacher, as your first teacher. How has your mother influenced your work?

OI: Dans ta biographie tu mentionne ta mère qui est professeur de musique, comme ton premier professeur. Comment ta mère a influencé ton travail ?

FC: My mother. Sure! I don’t know if she was my first teacher, but i have studied with her. I don’t remember if I used to call her mum or… I just remember that I was a bad student. She’s also a choir conductor. I used to sing in her choir when I was young.
My father plays piano and organ too. This has also had an impact on my career. I really like to go home and listen to my dad playing the piano and rock in vinyl discs.
My older brother is also a musician. He plays electric bass and double-bass. He had much influence on my work. I would not be here if it was not for him! We exchange a lot of things. E-string is an instrument that I conceived. I built it with my brother’s help! All my family had a deep influence on my work. My parents taught me Classical music and my brother rock/electronic and experimental music.
It’s kind of cool that my parents introduced me to Classical music and that I produce experimental or electronic music in exchange! My parents introduced me to composers that have inspired me like Messian, Guillaume de Machaut, Ravel and others.

FC: Ma mère ! C’est certain ! je ne sais pas si elle fut mon premier professeur mais j’ai suivi ses cours. Passer de son enfant à son d’élève était surprenant. Je ne me souviens pas si je l’appelai maman ou autre, je me souviens juste que j’étais un mauvais élève. Elle est également chef de choeur et plus jeune j’ai chanté dans sa chorale d’enfant.
Mon père joue aussi du piano et de l’orgue et a aussi une influence sur moi. J’aime beaucoup aller chez mon père et l’écouter jouer du piano, écouter un vinyle de rock, l’écouter parler de compositeurs, il a une très bonne connaissance de certains compositeurs.
Mon frère aîné fait également de la musique, guitare basse et contrebasse. Il a vraiment une influence sur moi. Je n’en serai pas là s’il ne faisait pas ce qu’il fait…. J’échange beaucoup avec lui, que ce soit de la musique ou des connaissances. E-string un instrument que j’ai crée a était construit avec son aide et ses savoirs.
Tous ont un impact sur mon travail actuel. Mes parents m’ont transmis une oreille de la musique classique et mon frère du rock/electronic et musique expérimentale.
Maintenant mes parents et moi échangeons nos goûts et connaissances musicales : musique classique contre musique électronique et contemporaine, c’est chouette. Ils m’ont touchés avec des compositeurs comme Messian, Guillaume de Machaut, Ravel et bien d’autres.

OI: What advice would you give to a sound artist or composer just starting out?

OI: Quel conseil voudrais-tu donner à un artiste sonore ou compositeur qui commence ?

FC: Do it !!!
FC: Fais-le !

OI: Where are you performing next? Where can we see your work?

OI: Où est ta prochaine performance ? Où pouvons-nous voir ton travail ?

FC: In September 3-4, at “Abbaye de l’escaladieu” for a festival, I will play “Eclipse” with AnAhAtA, an electronic trio. In October in Berlin and I hope somewhere else on my way to Berlin.

FC: Le 3/4 septembre à “l’abaye de l’Escaladieu” pour un festival, je joue “Eclipse” et avec AnAhAtA un trio électronique. En octobre à Berlin et j’espère d’autres dates sur la route.

OI: How can we contact you?

OI: Comment pouvons nous te contacter ?

FC: I have an associative website with two friends : http://www.corpselectriques.org, where you can see our projects and find our contact information.

FC: J’ai un site internet associatif avec deux amis : http://www.corpselectriques.org où on peut voir des projets et trouver un contact.

interviewed by Opie Boero Imwinkelried with Roxane Gotz
Ricardo Cancado, aka VJ Eletroiman, is a Brazilian VJ who works with imagery inspired by Brazilian popular culture. His work establishes an intercultural dialogue with the public and presents an authentic and complex universe through a hybrid language mixing video with other techniques including photography, drawing, 3D, and 2D animation.
VJ Eletroiman has been developing project Representa Corisco since the beginning of 2003. This explores political and social issues through the iconography of the “cangaço” movement and one of its characters: Corisco. This was an armed movement fighting the Brazilian elites during the 19th and 20th century.
In addition to his artistic work, VJ Eletroiman is the organizer of the Festival Visual Brasil, http://www.festivalvisualbrasil.com and the founder of Hybrid Project http://proyectohibrido.org.
Ricardo Cancado is the winner of VJ Torna 2011 LPM Rome and of VJ Torna 2010, Budapest , Hungary(video online category).
Roxane Gotz

Ricardo Cançado, aka VJ Eletroiman, es un VJ brasileño que trabaja un imaginario audiovisual basado en la cultura popular de Brasil. Su trabajo establece un dialogo intercultural con el publico y presenta un autentico y complejo universo de iconos construido a partir de una lenguaje híbrido que mezcla el video con otras técnicas, como la fotografía, dibujos, 3D y animaciones 2D.
El VJ Eletroiman desarrolla el Proyecto Representa Corisco desde el principio de 2003. El proyecto explora conceptos políticos y sociales a partir de una reflexión sobre la iconografía del “cangaço” y un dos sus personajes: Corisco. El cangaço fue un movimiento armado en Brasil en el siglo XIX y XX.
Además de su trabajo artistico, el VJ Eletroiman también organiza el Festival Visual Brasil, http://www.festivalvisualbrasil.com y es fundador del Proyecto Hibridos http://proyectohibrido.org.Ricardo Cançado es el ganador del VJ Torna 2011 LPM Rome yVJ Torna 2010, Budapest, Hungary (categoria video online).

“Generally speaking, artists take the context where they live as a referent resulting in aesthetic options and narratives that are coherent with their surroundings. With my project, I aim to communicate an imagery that is closely related to a Brazilian context, more specifically to a movement called cangaço*.”

“En general, el artista tiene como referencia de su trabajo el contexto donde vive; y sus opciones estéticas, narrativas son coherentes con este entorno. En mi proyecto, tengo el objetivo de comunicar con el publico un imaginario que está relacionado con un contexto brasileño, un acontecimiento llamado cangaço*.”

VJ Eletroiman aka Ricardo Cançado

Opie Boero Imwinkelried: Electricmagnet? Why?

VJ Eletroiman: The name “Electroimán” conveys the idea of convergence and attraction. Originally, my goal as a VJ was to use several techniques to produce in one medium–video. When I started, in 2003, I was studying Fine Arts and experimenting with painting animation, engraving, illustration and photography.

La idea de utilizar el nombre “electroimán” está asociada al concepto de convergencia, atracción. El objetivo inicial de mi proyecto de VJ era reunir varias técnicas en un mismo soporte, el video en directo. En esta ocasión, el año de 2003, yo estudiaba artes plásticas y hacia animaciones de pintura, gravados, dibujos y fotografía.

OI: Could you tell us a bit about yourself? Do you live in Spain or Brazil?

VJ E: I was born in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, but have lived in Barcelona for the last six years of my life. I studied Fine Arts and Cinema. This was my introduction to audiovisual arts. These two disciplines gave a vision of both iconic images and audiovisual narratives.

Yo he nacido en la ciudad de Belo Horizonte, Brasil y hace 6 años que vivo en Barcelona. La opción de trabajar con audiovisual es resultado de mi formación en Artes Plásticas y Cinema. El cruzamiento de estas dos disciplinas me proporcionó una visión más iconográfica y plástica sobre narrativas audiovisuales.

OI : What does it mean to be a VJ?

VJ E: The opportunity to experiment live with the language of video. You need to come up with new material to project every weekend; you need to conceive new strategies all the time to communicate with the public.

Para mi, la parte positiva de trabajar como VJ es la posibilidad de experimentar el lenguaje del video en directo… La dinámica de proyectar contenidos audiovisuales todos los fines de semana te obliga a trabajar y generar nuevos contenidos, pensar nuevas estrategias narrativas para comunicar con el publico.

OI: You were winner of the VJ TORNA 2011 contest in Rome. How did it feel?

VJ E: Winning the VJ TORNA 2011 contest in Rome acknowledged a project that I have been working on for the last eight years of my life. Represent Corisco is the result of a cooperation between several artists, to whom I will always be grateful: Jaime Mejia, João Maciel, Maíra Buzelin Leonel and Grey Filastine.

Ganar el VJ TORNA 2011 en Roma es un reconocimiento de un proyecto que vengo desarrollando desde el año 2003. El Proyecto Representa Corisco es resultado de la cooperación entre diversos artistas y me gustaría siempre agradecer a los que sumaran en este trabajo: Jaime Mejia, João Maciel, Maíra Buzelin Leonel y Grey Filastine.

OI: The imagery from your Representa Corisco project is very unique. What inspires it?

VJ E: The imagery of the project is the result of a collaboration with costume designer João Maciel. Our inspiration was based on concepts and images pertaining to the cangaço* universe, specially focusing on one of its characters, Corisco. We also looked into the Brazilian popular culture as well as into native South-American and Afro-Brazilian cultures to identify other elements that could reinforce this imagery.

El imaginario del proyecto es resultado de la colaboración con el artista João Maciel, que hace las vestimentas (esculturas-ropas). Nuestra inspiración tienen como referencia conceptos e iconos visuales que remiten al universo del cangaço* y a un de sus personajes: Corisco.
Buscamos también en la cultura popular brasileña otros elementos que potencializan esta iconografía, trabajamos con elementos indígenas, afro brasileños, entre otros.

OI: In Representa Corsico you use 3D animation and video. Could you explain how you made it?

VJ E: Artist Jaime Mejia did the 3D animation of the 2011 version of Representa Corsico. All of the video we produced for this project was made with animated photo sequences. The process was very crafty. First, we cut the characters shot by shot, and then we inserted them into futuristic scenarios. All the camera movements, transitions and effects were made in the post production.

Los planos en 3d del video de 2011 fueran generados por el artista Jaime Mejia. Toda la animación que hicimos en este proyecto es realizada através de secuencias de fotos animadas. Es un proceso bastante artesanal, recortamos los personajes plano a plano y después los inserimos en escenarios futuristas. Todos los movimientos de cameras, transiciones y efectos son hechos en pos producción.

OI: How does a VJ build local identity in a global world?

VJ E: Generally speaking, artists take the context where they live as a referent resulting in aesthetic options and narratives that are coherent with their surroundings. With my project, I aim to communicate an imagery that is closely related to a Brazilian context, more specifically to a movement called cangaço*. When I first came to Barcelona in 2005, and screened the imagery related to Project Representa Corisco, I realized that I was generating a special curiosity. Many people approached me, wanting to know more about the project. This visual estrangement is part of an intercultural dialogue that is very important to me. It provides other possibilities of cultural interpretation.

En general, el artista tiene como referencia de su trabajo el contexto donde vive; y sus opciones estéticas, narrativas son coherentes con este entorno. En mi proyecto, tengo el objetivo de comunicar con el publico un imaginario que está relacionado con un contexto brasileño, un acontecimiento llamado cangaço*. Cuando llegue en Barcelona en 2005 y proyecté por las primeras veces imágenes relacionadas con el Proyecto Representa Corisco, percibí que generaba una cierta inquietud en el publico. Mucha gente se acercaba y quería saber mas informaciones del proyecto. Este extrañamiento visual hace parte de un dialogo intercultural que me parece muy importante, ya que proporciona otras posibilidades de lectura de una cultura, son registro e impresiones más abiertas de una herencia visual brasileña.

OI: You organize the Brazilian VJ Festival called Visual Brasil. Could you briefly introduce this event that will soon celebrate its 9th edition?

VJ E: Visual Brasil is a festival showcasing audiovisual performances, music and live cinema, that has been taking place in Barcelona since 2006. With eight successful editions, the festival has consolidated as a space for discussion and promotion of new movements and trends in the visual arts. The festival encourages artistic dialogue between different collectives, professionals, and the general public. Visual Brasil is also a venue to promote contemporary Brazilian audiovisual arts in Europe. It is a proposal of exchange, supporting cultural interaction while generating an adequate media to exhibit the work of Brazilian artists. The festival creates new communication networks defeating the ocean that separates South America from Europe.

El Visual Brasil es un festival de performance audiovisual, música y live cinema que ocurre en la ciudad de Barcelona, España, desde el principio de 2006. Con ocho ediciones realizadas, el festival se consolida como un espacio para pensar y discutir nuevos movimientos y tendencias en las artes visuales, promoviendo el dialogo artístico entre colectivos, profesionales y sociedad.
El Visual Brasil se configura también como un canal de difusión y expresión de las artes audiovisuales contemporáneas brasileñas en la Europa. Propone el intercambio e incentiva la interculturalidad a partir de la divulgación de artistas brasileños, generando nuevas redes de comunicación entre America Latina e Europa.

OI: Besides Visual Brasil, you also started the project Hibrido, Live A/V Streaming, based in Barcelona. Could you tell us about it?
VJ E: The project Híbridos Live AV Streaming, http://www.proyectohibrido.org, is a space to think and discuss new possibilities of production and research in contemporary audiovisual experimentation. The meetings take place the first and the third Friday of each month in Barcelona. Each meeting has an invited artist or group of artists presenting their projects and explaining what technology they used to produce it.

El Proyecto Híbridos Live AV Streaming, http://www.proyectohibrido.org, es un espacio para pensar y discutir nuevas posibilidades de producción e investigación en el campo de la experimentación audiovisual contemporánea. Los encuentros son realizados dos viernes al mes, en la primera y tercera semana, en la ciudad de Barcelona. A cada sección tenemos un artista o colectivo invitado, que presenta su proyecto audiovisual en directo y explica al público su metodología de trabajo.

OI: What is the setup to perform collaboratively via streaming? Does Hibrido provide actual support for artists wanting to work with such setup?
VJ E: The equipment that we use to produce live streaming consists of three cameras, a mixer, and a computer to connect to the Internet. It is important to highlight the cooperation of Telenoika, that provides the infrastructure and equipment that we use for the presentations. Our goal is to help artists show their work. Right now there is an open call for the artists interested in presenting their work in the following months. http://proyectohibrido.org/?page_id=390.

Los equipos que utilizamos para realizar el streaming en directo es compuesto básicamente de 3 cameras, mixer y un ordenador para hacer la conexión por Internet. Es importante destacar la colaboración que tenemos con Telenoika, que nos facilita la estructura que utilizamos para las presentaciones audiovisuales: espacio, equipo de audio y video.
Nuestro objetivo es poder generar visibilidad para los artistas que quieren enseñar sus trabajos. La convocatoria esta abierta para proyectos para el próximo semestre, enlace: http://proyectohibrido.org/?page_id=390

OI: How does the Brazilian (or Latin American) VJ scene compare to the European scene? Latin American VJs seem to be more engaged politically. Do you agree?
VJ E: I think there are differences between the European and the Latin American VJ context. In Europe, there is more information about technology, generative art and computer programming languages to be applied to the arts. In Latin America, there is perhaps a little more creative freedom in the appropriation of the techniques. Regarding the political issue, it is natural that in countries with more social conflict, artists work with more critical subjects that discuss their reality. However, I don’t like this type of deterministic comparison. We must note that today there is plenty of information available on the Internet and other collaboration networks. It is up to the artists to search for their own references, artistic choices and reviews.

Creo que haya diferencias entre el contexto de VJs europeo y el latino. En el contexto europeo hay más informaciones sobre tecnología, arte generativa y programación direccionada a las artes visuales. En America Latina talvez haya un poco mas de libertad creativa en las apropiaciones técnicas . Sobre la cuestión política, es natural que en países con conflictos sociales más presentes los artistas trabajen con temáticas mas criticas, que hable de la realidad de desigualdad social en que viven. Pero no me gusta este tipo de comparación determinista, hay que tener en cuenta que hay mucha información disponible en Internet y otras redes de colaboración, depende mucho del artista buscar sus referencias y opciones artísticas y criticas.

OI: What thinkers influence your work?
VJ E: Among the influences of the project Represent Corisco there are texts like the Ramayana, Mahabharata (Indian literature), and Macunaíma (1928), by Brazilian writer Mário de Andrade.

Entre las influencias del Proyecto Representa Corisco, destaco: textos como El Ramayana, Mahábharata (literatura indiana). Y también, Macunaíma (1928), de Mário de Andrade.

OI: What artists do you admire?
VJ E: There are some artists that have influenced my work, among them Helio Oiticica and Glauber Rocha.

Hay algunos artistas que tienen grande influencia en mi trabajo, como por ejemplo Helio Oiticica y Glauber Rocha.

OI: Which free and open source applications do you recommend?
VJ E: I would like to emphasize on the methods and programs used by VJ O’video, who works with the concept of OpenDesktop. The programs and methods used by artists Borobros and VJ O’video, who works with OpenDesktop More info: http://www.folcore.org/artists/vj-o-video-y-su-opendesktop

Destaco los métodos y programas utilizados pelo artistas Borobrós, VJ O´video, que trabaja con el concepto de opendesktop. Más infos: http://www.folcore.org/artists/vj-o-video-y-su-opendesktop

OI: Livestream or Ustream? Why?
VJ E: We use Livestream and Giss tv. With those two options we try to provide the user with a stable and easy connection.

Utilizamos Livestream y Giss.tv. Con estas dos opciones intentamos proporcionas al usuario una conexión estable y fácil.

OI: Which websites do you recommend for VJs and visual artists?
VJ E: http://www.videopong.net/

OI: How can artists use the web and social media to communicate their ideas and promote their work?
VJ E: I think it is important to highlight the importance of working together and creating new networks to produce knowledge.

Creo que es fundamental resaltar la importancia de trabajar en conjunto y generar nuevas redes de producción de conocimiento.

OI: Where are you performing next? Where can we see your work?

VJ E:

July 15. Stripart, XVI mostra d’art jove d’horta-guinardó – BCN, Spain
July 17. Dimanche Rouge, Paris, France
July 29. Brasiliality. Londres, UK
August. Festival FILE – Sao Paulo – Brazil
September 1. Mostra de Live Cinema – Rio de Janeiro – Brazil
September 22 to 25. LPM, Live performance metting – Minsk, Belarus
_15 julio. Stripart, XVI mostra d’art jove d’horta-guinardó – BCN (ESP)
_17 julio. Dimanche Rouge, Paris, Francia
_29 julio. Brasiliality. Londres, UK
_Agosto. Festival FILE – Sao Paulo – Brasil
_1 septiembre. Mostra de Live Cinema – Rio de Janeiro – Brasil
_22 a 25 septiembre. LPM, Live performance metting – Minsk, Belarús

OI: How can we contact you?
VJ E: Through the website http://vjeletroiman.com/ or by email: vjeletroiman@vjeletroiman.com

Através de la web: http://vjeletroiman.com/ or el mail vjeletroiman@vjeletroiman.com

OI: Is there something you would like to add?

VJ E: Thanks for the interview. I dediate my project to Corisco, Oxossi Macunaíma and the Tupinambas (characters from Brazilian history and mythology).

Gracias por la entrevista. El proyecto es dedicado a Corisco, Oxossi, Macunaíma y los tupinambas (personajes de la historia y mitología brasileña).

_______________

* The cangaço was an armed movement from the nineteen and twentieth centuries developed in the North East of Brazil. This two-hundred year movement brings forward concepts that promote resistance and a critical approach towards the social values imposed by the Brazilian elites.

* El “cangaço” fue un movimiento armado que duró más de 2 siglos (XIX y XX) en el nordeste brasileño y nos remete a conceptos como de resistencia y crítica a los valores impuestos por la elite brasileña.