An installation in a concert setting that intends to present a spectral mutation of the sonic material that initially reveals the sound of extensive improvisations with an electroacoustic guitar. An ongoing cycle of works inspired by anthropologist Arnold van Gennep, the phenomenon of liminal spaces and the phenomena of anemoia and kenopsia.
LOCATION: Elements! in Art and Tech exhibition
Harvestworks Art and Technology Program Building 10a, Nolan Park Governors Island
Artist Opening Saturday October 26, 2024 and performance on October 27, 2024.
All events are free.
Open to the public from 11 am to 5 pm on Saturday and Sunday and by appointment.
Artist Statement: In 2021, I encountered the phenomenon of liminal space, which was later constructed in my interdisciplinary works and I continued the research ever since.
Liminal spaces are thresholds or abandoned residential buildings, areas, corridors, hallways, underground pathways, shopping malls, office buildings, etc.
Their initial purpose is to serve as a space crowded with people. The act of abandonment loses their initial desire.
The individuals who visited such abandoned areas for the first time reported emotional and memory responses to the spaces themselves. These responses are related to two terms.
The first is ‘Anemoia’ which indicates nostalgia or excitement of a time you have never known. The second ‘Kenopsia’ describes a particular psychophysiological response of an individual who interacted with the liminal space and experienced its atmosphere.
We could say that liminal spaces enable us to experience these phenomena. Liminal as a cross-disciplinary term is used widely within anthropology and folklore (e.g. initiation rituals), religion and spirituality (e.g. Ascension Day, reincarnation, etc.) and psychology (e.g. a process of transitioning across boundaries of reality and certain types of dissociation).
For instance, I took a closer look at the theory of Arnold van Gennep, who invented the term ‘Liminality’ at the beginning of the 20th century.
The direct relation to the Latin word Līmen is comprehensive and indicates the threshold and passageway at the same time. Fascinated by the term, sense of fluidity and the anthropological theory behind it, I am inspired to continue writing a cycle of works titled Līmen.
The concert sound installation LĪMEN VIII presents the 10th work from the cycle itself. To explain it efficiently we need to understand that:
‘Preliminality’ includes metaphorical deviation of the present state and forms a minimalistic and repetitive sonic environment throughout the immersive sound spatialization. The concert installation intends to present the first mutation of the sonic material that initially reveals the sound of extensive improvisations with an electroacoustic guitar that gradually evolves and transitions to ‘Liminality.’ The ‘Liminality’ itself has a sense of sequential development. The identity changes and transitions through a ‘destructive’ progression of the viable sounds of micro-processes (i.e. interferences and beatings with microtonal changes). Moreover, the sonic environment of the ‘Liminality’ seems organically fluid and transitions into the third stage of the Līmen VIII itself.
The third stage ‘Postliminality’ presents a fine spectral interpolation and spectral mutation between the spatialization and the e-bowed sounds. Overall it feels somehow static (i.e. from the harmony, sound and macro form point of view). However, the spatialization of the sound allows it to come to life and to arouse a new sonic identity as the transition forms its purpose and existence.
The project is funded by the Ministry of Culture Republic of Slovenia
• BIOS
Tilen Lebar is a Slovene-Dutch composer, improviser and saxophonist.His work is circulating and creating a unique connection between memory and the resonance of different acoustic spaces. Within the last decade, he developed a specific extended vocabulary for saxophone, electronics and other instruments that intrigue him personally and aim to push the boundaries of what is yet known, extend the possibilities of a conventional instrument and create pieces that create unforgettable experiences. Tilens’ sonic vocabulary besides improvisation duos with Guus Janssen, Szilard Benes and Domen Gnezda, includes sound art, sound installations, experimental operas, orchestral pieces, large ensemble works, electroacoustic performances and many instrumental pieces that were performed by Christoph Grund, Sae Lee, Luka Juhart, Anja Clift and Valentina Strucelj among others; ensembles as Asamisimasa, ensemble Oerknal, Slagwerk Den Haag, Ensemble Contrechamps, Concept Store Quartet; institutions as Experimental studio of SWR Freiburg, The Residentie Orkest, Orkest de Ereprijs, RKST21, Dutch National Opera & Ballet and conductors such as Clark Rundell, Andrew Hilary Grams and Gregory Charette.
Links
https://www.facebook.com/tilen.lebar.1/
PRESS QUOTES
‘Whose music is raw, beautiful and austere.’
(Morning Star)
‘An unusually thoughtful young artist who delves into sound phenomena with the wisdom of an experienced composer.’
(SIGIC)
‘On the one hand, determined and on the other experimental.’
(SIGIC)
https://www.sigic.si/zvok-kot-filozofija.html
About the Elements! in Art and Tech exhibition. Programmed for the annual Harvestworks Art and Technology Program Building on Governors Island, the artworks in this group show are inspired by elements of light, water, earth, flower plasma and their influence on humans. Selected by the Harvestworks arts committee and the Executive Director Carol Parkinson, the works use creative technology such as audio/video spatialization, gesture, body tracking and vegetal power.
