Names, sections of the head
The symposium 'Eye and Ear' festival had to do with the relationship between image, sound and space. In 'Names, sections of the head' I sought to draw a connection between the spatiality of the sectional systems as depicted in medical books when describing the human body, and the architectonic spatiality in the building of Duende. Location At the front of the building (formerly a school), passageways are situated on three floors directly above each other. Stairwells extend from either end of these passageways. A person sits on a chair in the center of each passageway. Two light lines are projected from either end of the passage onto the person's head. Both light lines illuminate one section from one of the three sectional systems of the head: i.e. axial (horizontal), coronal (frontal) and sagittal (front to back). One sectional system is shown on each floor. On each floor standing next to the projectors is a voice performer. They stand back to back, facing the stairwell. Performance On each floor, the first sectional lines are projected onto the heads of the seated persons. The voice performers now commence with a fixed pitch recitation of the Latin terms for the anatomical elements arising in that section. Each pair of performers recites in alternation so that the sound of their voices resounds back and forth along the passage. Each duo recites at a different pitch. When the recitation of the first sectional terms has been completed, the next sectional lines are projected, the terms for that section are than recited, and so on. The sound of the voices along the three passageways blend into each other via the stairwells. The moment at which each new section is commenced with will vary between the pairs. The performance ends when all the terms have been recited.
year | 1998 |
location | artists' collective Duende Rotterdam NL |
performed by | Choral members of Koorproject Rotterdam and artists related to Duende |
curator | Duende |
photography | Arthur Kleinjan |
video | Robbert Roos |
further information | Thanks to Maarten Michielsen (voices coordination) |
project or event | Symposium 'Eye and Ear' Duende |