joseph byer, with contributions from dave byer, nicholas longstaff and chandra bulucon.
Influences
"Time and change, rather than static permanence, are the material of life and, therefore, art."
- Suzanne Delhanty, Soundings
"...public art participates in the production of meanings, uses and forms for the city."
- Rosalyn Deutsche, Evictions
"With the telephone and the radio, sound was no longer tied to it's original point in space; with the phonograph, it was released from it's original point in time. The dazzling removal of these restrictions has given modern man an exciting new power which artistic intelligence had continually sought to render more effective."
Footage of the most recent React[ivat]ion performance.
-------------------------------------- the initial React[ivat]ion project originally took place in 2001. Five years later, I plan to recommence the project this Spring/Summer 2006 in Toronto. I am calling on individuals who are interested in joining me to perform. Please read the text below and friend me if you are interested in participating! --------------------------------------
react to the art thrust into your environment reactivate the objects; give them new purpose and meaning
The idea of this project originally occurred to me in the late 90s while working as a bike courier in Toronto. For a long time I have been unable to pass by any work of public sculpture without striking it in some way to see what sort of sound it would emit. Although some of the ramifications of this exercise have been present in my train of thought since the beginning, other aspects of cultural critique and post-modern art practice have worked their way into the thought process.
For the post-modern viewer, the whole lure of the concept of "public art" was it's freedom from galleries. Much of the strength of the work came from the fact that it could stand on its own as art beyond the modern concept of curation. But does placing modern abstract forms in public settings really make the work more powerful and give it greater validity as "art"? And what do these works really mean to the public that encounters them everyday? The purpose of this project is to give these "forms" (the sculptures) a "use" (percussive performance incited by the intended audience), or rather to give function to the inanimate forms, in an attempt to give the sculptures more "meaning" as works of "public art". It is an attempt to put the "public" back into the term "public art", not only as an audience, but as a participant.
Such was the dialogue I had hoped to spark at the time I initially dreamt up the project. Within the context of the research, more issues arouse. Among them are ideas of ownership of the public works (the concept of "intellectual property" which also haunts audio art) as well as a critique of commerce's role in artmaking, namely that of the "Percent for Arts" clause. All in all, the very idea of striking "art" with percussive tools like drum sticks and mallet causes alarmist responses, in the context of casual conversation, as the act being "vandalous".
Yet the most intriguing aspect of ReAct[ivat]ion is the ability of sound recordings and transmissions to unite works - which are frozen in time and seperated by great distances - in single compositions and performances.
ReAct[ivat]ion seeks to exploit the phenomenon of transcending time and space that our modern audio technology allows us to accomplish, while critiquing the canons of modern art through interaction with public sculpture. The audience is invited to bare witness to the marvels of technology they may encounter on any given day, in space which is rightfully theirs, using objects which have invaded that space.
sorry didn't mean to hit it twice- under 15 days I'm so nervous I could shit, and I almost got shut down in KC- what a fucking rollercoaster- how you been?
No wonder it seems musical, it's the monument for the Finnish national composer Jean Sibelius. If you ever head on over here, we'd be glad to join you!
"i was hoping to squeeze in one more React[ivat]ion in Toronto before I hit SF. possibly a daytime event next weekend if i get a chance to check out these pieces in High Park I keep hearing about. will let everyone know for sure!
cheers, joe"
Cool! Saturday is better for me as Lynn and I were planning to hit Toronto Island on Sunday for the last day of the 2006 Sound Travels concerts.
(This year it's 12 speakers around the audience)
http://www.soundtravels.com
The MisCommunications vid that blepharisma posted is very cool to watch to see what everyone was up to around the sculpture. It's too bad that Heidi was just getting it really going when we were shut down.
With your trip to SanFran, will there be an August event? I'm trying to plan my time carefully as there's a dreamSTATE concert on Thurs Aug 17th (at the Tranzac) that I have to prepare for.
The misCommunications piece sounds very cool and evolves through three distinct sections - too bad we were shut down before we had a chance to really explore and settle in. Is any of the video usable?
thanks for the words!
ya'll ever think about touring? i grew up in syracuse, ny and the everson museum has some perfect metal pieces outside for this sort of stuff. also, if you ever make it down to newyork, newyork let me know, i've got a some old silverware that might work nicely. anyway, rad idea and keep in touch!
HAHAHHAH thats great, it's too bad we acctually had some good stuff going there for a little while, oh well though at least the security guard was cool about it and added some nice humour at the end there.
The "Communications" piece was wonderful - a wide variety of tones within arm's length - but it was a special treat for me, an honour even, to be able to participate in creating an evolving sound piece from Henry Moore's "The Archer". A great night Joe!
