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Away was commissioned by the European Media Art Festival
for the EMAF festival in Osnabrueck, 2004. The piece was installed
in a popular shopping street in Osnabrueck and was designed
to actively engage passers-by otherwise absorbed in looking
at things for sale, at themselves and at others. Sale Away invited
people to play and play with a complex mechanical sound orchestra
installed in a shop front using their mobile phones.
The mechanical orchestra consisted of vacuum cleaners playing
flute, organ and brass, rattling kitchen mixers, buzzing ventilators,
radio playing toy trains, wobbling jigsaws, dancing tumble dryers,
humming refrigerators and other appropriated household utilities
which might normally be found in a store window. A man-sized
refrigerator served as the conductor and explanatory interface
for the sound orchestra. In order to start the orchestra and
wake up the shop window, passers-by dialed into a system whose
number and basic commands were posted on the window. This call
opened the door of the fridge, revealing a mobile-phone
robot person" created by Erik Kriek. The robot offered
guidelines for interaction and invites the passer-by to play
the orchestra through their phone. This installation was later
shown at the Tschumipavijloen in Groningen 2004 and at the CultuurNacht
/oude Stroom gebouw Den haag 23 till 24 Septermber 2005.
I went several times along at your installation and
I'am always surprised to see that the installation reaches/attracts
very different people. Kids, people returning from shopping-
opening the fridge, people returning to the installation to
show it to their friends, etc. Typical communication: 1)person:
What is this? 2)person: This is art. Aha- Look there-Does it
really work? I'am sure you would like to see these smiling faces
at your work as well.Best wishes (Alfred European Media
Art Festival, 21.-25. April 2004)
To download pdf documentation on Sale Away
is click HERE
original concept
Staalplaat Soundsystem were Geert-Jan Hobijn (NL), Carsten
Stabenow (GER) and Olaf Matthes (GER).
Graphics by Erik Kriek http://www.gutsmancomics.com
and software by Olaf Matthes http://www.akustische-kunst.org
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