Waves 2
On the invitation of the Synthese Foundation (which organizes concerts of electronic music), I made a movement sculpture which grew out of the theatrical situation of the Studio Hall. This work was created on the basis of “Waves” (Delft '83) which had an electronic composition by Hans Poort.
“Waves” radiated from continual movements and changes in the rich metallic sound of nine chimes of a clock, converted into the movements of nine people who moved with light.
The sound composition began with the actual chimes of clock with then, by examining all their elements, were desorted and processed into sounds that were barely recognizable at times; then they became more realistic so that the composition ended once again with the actual chimes of a clock.
Situation, organization and performance:
The Studio hall of Tilburgs' City Theatre has a stage with a depth of about 10 meters and a backdrop of 12x4 meters.
From my circle of friends, I asked nine people to perform this piece after short rehearsal.
Lines were drawn on the floor from nine points by the backdrop. They were about 8 meters long and diverged slightly towards the hall. A person was standing on each of the nine lines by the backdrop carrying 300 wall halogen lamp with both face and lamp turned towards the backdrop.
A clock was hanging in the middle of the backdrop.
At 9 p.m., the first, still unprocessed chimes of the clock were heard and the lights went on. They were still practically against the backdrop so that the light was subdued.
The nine people had been asked to move back and forth from the backdrop along their own lines in a very slow and controlled way so that the distances travelled became greater each time.
The movements had to be performed as gradually as possible.
In addition, the rectangular light projections had to remain within the white backdrop.
At around 9.30 p.m., the movements had to be increased so that the entire length of the line was being used. After that the distances became shorter again everyone had to aim to finish by the backdrop at 10 p.m.
Postscript:
Because everyone worked according to a personal tempo and system of movement, the mutual relationships, distances and strength of the light projections and the shadows on the backdrop were open to continual changes.
year | 1986 |
location | Studiohall City Theatre Tilburg |
performed by | 9 volunteer participants |
photography | Henk Geraedts |
project or event | Synthese Foundation |