TodysArt Festival with Evan Parker, Roessler, Cathedral of Thorns, and IOM-AIM RESEARCH
September 21, 2019 –
“iCOT+” is a next step in IOM-AIM Reserch (Peter van Bergen & Johan van Kreij). IOM-AIM researches improvisation as an art of instability in human computer interaction (HCI). “iCOT+” is a complex, multilayered composition in which various behaviours, choices and processes influence each other like in a web: (1) automatic algorithmic sound generating processes (Johan van Kreij), (2) compositional seeds (Peter van Bergen), partly genetically based on tone patterns substracted from Evan Parker’s solo soprano saxophone performances, (3) data coming in from four sensors measuring audience activity (the audience). Together they feed and form a 16.2 artificial choir that starts a dialogue with the live acoustic performance of Evan Parker on a soprano saxophone.
“iCOT+” is dedicated to Evan Parker, the titel comes from the Cathedral of Thorns, a community work of art on Curacao that will be officially opened on February 20, 20120. IOM-AIM Research will then provide the Cathedral with its own, interactive artificial singing choir based on data collected by sensors. The Cathedral of Thorns is a community work of art in the making on the grounds of the monumental Bloemhof mansion on Curaçao. It is a labyrinth of 20 by 20 by 10 meters that, in addition to its aesthetic value, has a clear message. The artwork confronts visitors with black pages from the past and the present, offers room for reflection and is tangible proof that people are capable of great achievements through collaboration.
The labyrinth is made from the thorns (sumpinas) of the acacia tortuosa (wabi), a shrub that is abundant in Curaçao and is mainly experienced as weeds. Herman van Bergen, creator of the Cathedral, considers the thorns as a means of nature to defend against large-scale deforestation and pollution, one of the black chapters mentioned. By emphasizing their beauty, including through the internal lighting of the walls, an environmentally friendly, sustainable ode is brought to nature.
“iCOT+” is a compositional work in itself but also a study of how the choir of the cathedral can enter into a dialogue with a live performing artist, in this case Evan Parker, one of the world’s most innovative and influential saxophone players. As a pioneer of free jazz, his “extraordinary, multi-layered saxophone playing” has made him one of the most highly regarded musicians in the world.
Peter van Bergen is a composer/improvisor/interpreter in the field of interdisciplinary new music. He founded LOOS in 1982, studied with Evan Parker in the early 90’s, is currently a PhD candidate at the Free University of Brussels and still directing LOOS. With Johan van Kreij he works together on IOM-AIM Research since 2014.
Johan van Kreij studied music at the Institute of Sonology from 1994 at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, graduating in 1998. Frequently he performs his music, both as a soloist and with other musicians. Starting in 1998 van Kreij has participated in a long running and intensive collaboration with choreographer Ted Stoffer. This resulted in music composed to a great number of dance choreographies that were performed throughout Europe and the United States. And for more than a decade he has been active within the field of music theatre trough cooperations with Dick Raaijmakers and Paul Koek. Currently he is cooperating with Peter van Bergen (LOOS), doing a research into instability and performance software systems.
more details second concert 19:55 - 20:40 Leonie Roessler with "EastOnwards"
East Onwards - A pulsating sonic journey from Lithuania to Iran to India, entirely composed of field recordings.
Leonie Roessler is a The Hague-based composer, performer, and sound artist who has been traveling various countries with her Cultural Spaces project. Initially conceived as pure installation and radio works, she carefully composed portraits of the places she visited during residencies and festivals, recomposing her environment into elaborately crafted sound collages that nevertheless paint an authentic and recognisable picture of each location. She then began to use her recordings for live sets, adding processes to take the audience in and out of a layered world of realities. East Onwards uses material from her residencies in Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz, and Panjim - recorded with the Support of Limited Access Festival, New Media Society, STROOM Den Haag, and The Story of Space Festival. Her recordings of Lithuania are purely personal. She and her then four-year old son spent the summer in rural Lithuania with the family of the nurse who had taken care of her grandfather during the last years of his life until the moment of his death.
