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Martin Backes (DE): What do machines sing of?
multimedia installation
exhibition opening and artist talk: tuesday, April 12th 2016, 8pm
exhibition is open on April 13th and 14th 2016, from 5pm to 8pm
@ big hall of Pogon Jedinstvo, Zagreb, Trnjanski nasip bb
The new event in Mochvara Gallery is dedicated to the music of love and to gentle, sentimental feelings – but in an arrangement that is somewhat different from what the ballad lovers are used to. As a part of the program of Zagreb’s gallery dedicated to sound art, German artist Martin Backes presents his multimedia installation with the intriguing title “What do machines sing of?”. Alongside the sweet-sounding performance of some of the greatest hit-ballads of the 90s, such as the epical “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston, this singing device uses a computer program to detect emotions in each of the songs and to incorporate them in its song interpretation and performance – almost as if it wanted to show the sophistication of a real singer and express its own personality. The exhibition opens on Tuesday, April 12 at 8:00 p.m. at Pogon Jedinstvo and includes an artist talk during which Martin Backes will explain the key ideas behind this work.
Martin Backes is a Berlin-based artist, designer, performer, composer and lecturer. He has studied Media Art & Design as well as Sound Studies at the University of Arts in Berlin. In his work, he often uses media technologies to reflect certain functionalities, effects, ideologies and human perception. Backes cross-border and experimental field of activity in the intermediate area of art and science ranges from sculptural and multimedia sound works to interventions in public spaces and installations, as well as radio plays and computer/video works. He has presented his work at various international exhibitions and festivals.
organizers: Culture Development Association “URK” + Mochvara Club & KONTEJNER | bureau of contemporary art praxis
media partners: H-alter, Kulturpunkt, Radio Student
supported by: Goethe-Institut Kroatien, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia, City of Zagreb, Kultura Nova Foundation
Moritz Simon Geist (DE): MR-808
performance and interactive sound installation
opening and performance: Thursday, March 10, 2016 at 8:00 p.m.
artist talk: Friday, March 11, 2016 at 7:00 p.m.
The installation can be seen on March 11-12, 2016 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.
@ large hall of Pogon Jedinstvo, Zagreb, Trnjanski nasip bb
free entrance
The new event at Zagreb’s Mochvara Gallery, whose annual programme is dedicated to sound art, presents German artist Moritz Simon Geist performing electronic music in the company of unusual musicians – mechanical robots! The main robot is an installation named MR-808, a robotic replica of the famous electronic drum machine TR-808 and the first robotic installation that transfers and presents the electronic sounds of this iconic instrument. TR-808 has been used on more hit records than any other drum machine and thus attained an iconic status within the music industry. During the live performance, the artist operates the installation and highlights the origins of the electronic sound of the 1980s in a way no conventional media would be able to. This is done via physical movements of the drum robot parts, and lights that synchronize with the sound. Thus, the installation introduces a physical error into the music: a drum beaten by a mechanical robot arm can never be as predictable as a computer-generated sound. After the opening and performance on Thursday, March 10, 2016 at 8:00 p.m. in the large hall of PogonJedinstvo, Zagreb, the visitors will be able to see and play the interactive installation MR-808 on Friday and Saturday, March 11-12, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. The artist talk will be held on Friday, March 11, at 7:00 p.m.
Moritz Simon Geist is an artist dealing with a whole range of different topics, from tonal hacking to robotics and automated robotic instruments, adding a new perspective to the “man-machine interface”. He has presented his projects at various festivals and exhibitions, such as Ars Electronica 2014 (AT), Club Transmediale 2013 (DE), and Mapping Festival [CH]. He has collaborated with performers such as Mouse on Mars and Tyondai Braxton, and is part of the robotic sound collective Sonic Robots. Lives and works in Dresden, Germany.
organizers: Culture Development Association “URK” + Mochvara Club & KONTEJNER | bureau of contemporary art praxis
media partners: H-alter, Kulturpunkt, Radio Student
supported by: Goethe-Institut Kroatien,Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia, City of Zagreb, Kultura Nova Foundation
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Josef Klammer (AT): Drumming Is an Elastic Concept
staged concert for percussions and electronics
Wednesday, February 17, 2016, at 8.00 p.m.
@ large hall of Pogon Jedinstvo, Zagreb, Trnjanski nasip bb
free entrance
Josef Klammer, Austrian musician and multimedia artist, will present his staged concert for percussions and electronics “Drumming Is an Elastic Concept” at Mochvara Gallery in Zagreb, Croatia. Since the mid-80s, Klammer has been continuously working in the field of innovation of musical instruments and research in the transformative potential of sound. The artist first substituted the common plastic drumheads with the latex ones in 2008, during a radio performance called “Membrane”, producing a stretched, slow drumbeat resembling breathing. His performance “Drumming Is an Elastic Concept” is a more complex elaboration of this idea and an anthology of the artist’s experiments with percussions that emphasize flexibility in making music, as well as the creative fascination and immense expressive possibilities of the instruments and various other artistic media.
organizers: Culture Development Association “URK” + Mochvara Club & KONTEJNER | bureau of contemporary art praxis
media partners: H-alter, Kulturpunkt, Radio Student
supported by: Austrian Cultural Forum Zagreb, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia, City of Zagreb, Kultura Nova Foundation