Paranormal Radio
Audiovisual installation / performance
Commissioned by Radiovisionen Festival
Premiere: Kubus at TESLA Berlin, 5-6.10.2007
12−channel sound, 12 ball speakers, video projections, UV−light, props, actors and musicians.
Guest artists: Rechenzentrum, Christoph Klemke, Feline Lang, Vannessa Perez and Edmundo Torres.
With the kind support of WHD Sound Solutions, Germany.
Twelve ball loudspeakers painted with UV-paint were hung at different hights above groups of sofas.
Sofas were distributed around a bar placed roughly at the center of the space.
The whole space was illuminated with UV spotlights.
A big screen was placed on two walls of the space for video projections of collaged porno films from the silen era.
Visitors were provided with drinks and popcorn.
Twelve different soundtracks were created using short dialogues extracted from diverse films from the 40´s and 50´s in twelve different languagues.
Each soundtrack was assigned to a ball loudspeaker.
Under each loudspeaker visitors could hear a different sound mix.
The Radiovisionen Festival looked back on the origins and into a fictitious future of the medium: What does radio sound like in 150 years? In which social and political context will radio exist?. Radiovisionen are Science Fiction.
By the year 2150 people live in a predominantly hedonistic, frivolous and pleasure oriented society. Cultural and intellectual activities are very scarce and almost nobody is interested in politics or social issues. Entertainment industries take over in all cities. The traditional radio receiver has almost disappeared and people have access to a wide range of portable audiovisual devices.
A device called PSC (Paranormal Signal Catcher) has recently been developed. A PSC is able to randomly scan through the ether and pick up voices coming from still unknown sources. Scientists believe these are dead people's voices coming from an unknown space/time dimension. The PSC is still not able to establish any sort of communication or dialogue between the living and the dead.
However, in this frivolous and consumer oriented society a version of the PSC has been produced and is sold as an entertainment commodity. It is the new technology "trendy toy" for the masses and many call it the new radio. PSCs are still very expensive for at-home use and people enjoy them in venues called Radiorooms.
Radiorooms are very popular decadent entertainment places in cities, like also are theaters, cinemas and concert halls. A Radioroom is a mix between night club and cabaret. It has a number of listening areas and people are free to sit or to walk around the areas. In Radiorooms the voices of the dead are used as entertainment objects of a trivial and decadent society.
An imaginary Radioroom was created in the Kubus at TESLA Berlin.
Paranormal Radio functions as a metaphor that explores the radio medium as an essentially acousmatic medium in which the transmitting bodies or sources cannot be seen and in which sound is the main and only means of communication.
www.radiovisionen.de
