Sound Location Films/Sound Postcards/Maysea–John Grzinich and Emiter

The audiovisual installation Onomatopoeia prepared for the Školská Gallery brings together two artists who work for the most part in Eastern Europe and who have specific approaches to landscapes, sounds and images. So called “location filming” involves observing and reflecting on events in a recorded space and time, observing what induces and affects spontaneous interventions, and using sound and image as evidence. John Grzinich's video series "Location Sound Films" takes as its starting point the concept of site-specific activity and proceeds to integrate contemporary sound recording practices that blur the boundaries between performance, field recording, improvisation and documentation. With the site as the prime focus, the artist, as actor and instigator, uses sound to investigate the characteristics of a specific context and his place in it.

Various techniques are used to make those recordings, some more obvious than others. The technique depends upon the type of sound to be captured (for example stereo condenser microphones, or contact microphones).

The audio installation MAYSEA by the Polish sound artist and musician Marcin Dymiter is based on language analysis: the audio/onomatopoeic aspect - in this case the sound of the sea as we imagine it. The basis of the project is to find audio documentation that could answer two questions: What sound does the sea produce? What sounds does the word “sea” evoke in your mind? Dymiter visited several towns in Poland, situated both on the coast and farther inland, and compared impressions of the sound of the sea. An attempt to refer to the real sound of the sea increases the complexity of the entire sound project. However, the project is primarily about stimulating the sense of the listener's imagination.

An important element of Dymiter's sound activities is his long-term interest in “urban sound mapping”. The presentation of the Prague Sound Postcard Project is the result of his residency at the Skolska Open Studio.. The process of intensive mapping - subjective audio recording and re-contextualizing the sounds of several quiet Prague locations, could contribute to a better understanding of Prague's aural geography. In this particular case Dymiter focused on several green areas and city parks in Prague. Further development of the concept (for example, relocating, transmitting the recorded sounds into a new context) is part of this work in process.

For the opening at 7.30 pm screening of the black and white film by John Grzinich: Sound Aspects of Material Elements, produced between 2006 and 2009. Concept, sound, camera, editing: John Grzinich Collaborative recordings made with: Patrick McGinley, Jim Haynes, Toomas Thetlof, Maksims Shentelevs, Kaspars Kalninsh, Eamon Sprod, Hitoshi Kojo, Evelyn Müürsepp.

Bio: Mixed-media artist, John Grzinich has worked primarily with sound composition, performance and installation since the early 1990s, focusing on site-specific and acoustic sound activities. He is a program and media lab coordinator for MoKS - Center for Art and Social Practice, an international artist residency centre and project space in southeastern Estonia. http://maaheli.ee/main/

Marcin Dymiter aka Emiter is a musician, improviser, composer and sound artist who combines field recordings, acoustic instruments and electronic sound. Emiter moves within electronics and improvised music. He uses and connects lo-fi/hi-fi, as well as sounds commonly known as interferences. He creates sound installations, radio auditions and soundtracks for films, performances and public spaces. http://en.emiter.org/

In the framework of the exhibition project workshops of John Grzinich and Evelyn Müürsepp, Udo Noll, Els Viaene, organized in cooperation with Soundexchange and Sounds of Europe.