THINGS TO COME: ORAL SIGHT-SEEING
In ancient rites, Australian Aborigines already mapped territories by means of song in so-called song lines. In this way, valuable information about both their spiritual and physical habitat was passed on from generation to generation. This edition of Things To Come zooms in on sound and oral transfer as a means of navigating through space and time. Under the header “Oral Sight-Seeing”, scientists, artists and developers present projects which navigate through urban space by means of audio, and concentrate on the role of locative media for the purpose of digging up oral histories.
How can mobile platforms facilitate new forms of storytelling? Which urban secrets is the city of Utrecht hiding behind the unwritten stories of its inhabitants? And what are the problems we encounter when confronted with the tension between fact and fiction in oral tradition? We give you all the answers. So close your eyes and prick up your ears.
Featuring presentations by
Marc Tuters & Ricarda Franzen – Click here for the video of their presentation
New media researcher / artist Marc Tuters (Canada) and playwright / sound artist Ricarda Franzen (Argentina/ Germany) present “Ritournelle”, a mobile application functioning as a tour of the Utrecht underworld. This app integrates audio mythical memories of indigenous Utrecht inhabitants into a radio play-like project. The project makes use of the 7scenes application.
This project has been made possible in cooperation and with the generous support of Aboriginal Art Museum Utrecht.It is part of their 10 year anniversary exhibition ‘Be my guest’, that is on display till January 8, 2012.
Ronald Lenz (7scenes/ Waag Society) – Click here for the video of his presentation
7scenes is a mobile storytelling platform connecting different media to specific locations in order to generate a new city experience. Ronald Lenz is creative director of 7scenes and head of the Urban Reality Lab of Waag Society.
Allard van Hoorn – Click here for the video of his presentation
The oeuvre of artist Allard van Hoorn maneuvers between architecture, sound and visual arts.
He stages the performance ‘A Vesper Songline,’ an ode to Alvin Lucier. The performance takes a sound photograph of the space with the help of the audience who navigate by ear, i.e., without seeing, through the room with SONDOLs (Sonar Dolphin Echolocation devices). The artist translates the sound profile recorded this way into live music with an Urban Songline as result. You are invited to join the action!
Dr. Stef Scagliola – Click here for the video of his presentation
The scientific conscience of the evening is museologist and military historian Stef Scagliola. She specializes in oral history, ego documents, military cultures and handling of the effects of violent conflicts. She will go into the potentially controversial use of oral tradition in history.
In co-operation with: