Ptarmigan

Event: How should one live this life?

Mon, 15 Sep 2014 09:15:55 +0000

19 September, 2014

How should one live this life? is a social gathering organized by Jaana Kokko. During this event there will be introductions of artistic strategies by Jaana Kokko and three invited guests: Mai Sööt & Eva Labotkin (Estonia) and Leena Pukki (Finland). The public is most welcome to perform or reflect on his or her own strategy. Food will be served.

Post: Done Kino is back!

Wed, 06 Aug 2014 14:28:24 +0000

posted 06 August, 2014

Ptarmigan and The Penitentiary: Battery Project presents Done Kino 2014!

If you are interested to shoot short films in Tallinn's Patarei Prison and experience an experimental version of collaborative cinematic improvisation event called Kino Kabaret, you should participate in the weekend Done Kino on 15 -17 August 2014.

Registration form and more info can be found here.

Kino Kabaret events have character of temporary film labs taking place all around the world where all kind of cinematic artisans gather for several days, divided into sessions of various amount and length, to create short low-budget films in an improvisational manner. Usually each session contains three main parts: a production meeting; shooting and editing; and screening of films made during a session.

Done Kino is the first Kino Kabaret cell in Estonia established in 2013. Each year it tackles a different topic, although the same principle: to dig up forgotten and pushed out of the consciousness by ignorance, laziness, procrastination, or fear, issues, and in its holly awkwardness, expose and transform them into the starting point for much more exciting scenarios.

It’s second edition is takes place at Patarei which from 1840 served many functions in changeable historical times (sea-fortress, military barracks, Soviet and Estonian prison, dark tourism venue), reflecting the long and complex relationships between Estonia and Russia at different stages in their histories.

Done Kino 2014 wants to add one more episode to this historical fate: collaboration between Estonian, Russian, and foreign filmmakers. Therefore we look for variously original and experienced (or unexperienced) directors, scriptwriters, actors, camera operators, film editors, animators, sound designers, and musicians who are brave and creative enough to overcome passive acceptance of the current division of the Estonian and Russian cultural scene and treat terrifying but stunning premises of Patarei as a stage of inspiring and potentially ground-breaking shooting location, Kinolab and projection hall. It is all not about integration or assimilation, but more about going beyond exclusion caused by mutual ignorance and taking it as an excuse for collaboration. One can never know how much creative potential is in unexplored human relations restricted by reactionist divisions based on the ideological and cultural convention of belonging. Nevertheless, Done Kino has no interest in politics, but filmmaking, creativity, spontaneity, self-organization and non-competitiveness.

Event: Done Kino 2014: public screening

Fri, 01 Aug 2014 11:11:44 +0000

17 August, 2014

Done Kino, a part of international Kino Movement, presents the screening of short films created during 48 hours of collaborative film making improvisation in Patarei Prison. Free entrance. Come and see!

Post: Late summer events

Tue, 22 Jul 2014 10:36:26 +0000

posted 22 July, 2014

There's a lot happening at Ptarmigan during the rest of the summer.

Workshops:

Sara Evelyn-Brown & Meera Shakti Osborne (UK) visit Tallinnn with their Human Space project, which explores the city though deliberately incorrect maps during walks on Wednesday and Thurdsay 30-31 July, and then dissects the experience with a workshop on Friday 1 August. It's free - just register.

Jasmin Schaitl and William 'Bilwa' Costa are familiar faces, having performed and led workshops multiple times in the past. They come back in early August to lead the sense and experience workshop, a three day investigation into improvisation, sound and movement. There are still spaces left, and you can register here.

In late August, artist-in-residence Marko Timlin will lead a workshop on interactive, sensor-based music systems. The workshop will explore how sensors can be used to further interaction for sound design, installations or instrument building. It will use Arduino and Max/MSP among other technologies. Registration is here.

Performance and sound:

This Friday, Mexican sound artist Mario de Vega stops by Ptarmigan for an afternoon artist talk and presentation of his work, before performing at Katla Aed in the evening. It starts at 15:00.

Bilwa and Jasmin will perform collaboration #014, in their on-going series, at the beginning of their residency. The sense and experience workshop will also culminate in a performance on the evening of 10 August, for friends and family of the workshop participants (and anyone else interested).

Japanese/Austrian performer Arai Mayumi will perform 'untitled' on 6 August. This durational performance is built around a large transparent plastic sheet and will go from 17:00 - 20:00.

Finnish underground music legends Avarus FINALLY visit Ptarmigan Tallinn to perform, in an all-day mini-festival called Jökkijäkkisnäcki 2. On 16 August, Avarus and a bunch of their offshoot side projects will play, along with new Tallinn/Helsinki band Third Approach.

Marko Timlin will showcase his Sensor-Sound-Machine creation in a small concert on the evening of 30 August.

Gatherings and other meetups:

Our largest production of the year is the Kompass event, a gathering for Estonian and Latvian culture creators, artists and activitists. The theme of the event is 'public space' and will occur over two days with an un-conference, presentations and discussions, and speed workshops. Kompass is designed not just to connect like-minded people but to actually establish some new initiatives. More information can be found on the Kompass website.

Tallinn's modular synth community will have a meetup on 23 August at Ptarmigan, for people building their own synths and similar projects to show off what they have done and meet others.

Our ongoing Avatud Toimingud series concludes, first with EKKM's Anders Härm on 20 August, and then with Ptarmigan volunteer John W. Fail on 10 September. These events always include lively discussions about the ways in which we organise art and culture events, and seek to de-mystify the process. Avatud Toimingud is supported by the Estonian Ministry of Culture.

Event: Marko Timlin: Work(s) in progress

Tue, 22 Jul 2014 10:02:42 +0000

04 September, 2014

In the words of Marko: "I am currently staying as an artist in residence at Ptarmigan. This is also my first stay in Tallinn. During this residency I aim to explore how poetry, sound art and technology can be intertwined and try to liberate myself from my own work routine. I strive to do this without any time pressure or precise goal. Like as if I had all the time in the world I want to read, write, compose, programme, listen to previously unknown music and explore Tallinn by regularly losing myself walking erratically through the city. This approach is similar to the growth process of a plant: it starts from a very small seed, cannot be rushed, has to be nurtured and needs its time, but when all the ingredients and the environment are right, it will grow and eventually blossom. If we'd rush its process of growing too much, it might very easily die.

During the Work(s) in progress event I will present the outcome of my period of residence.

I hope that this occasion might serve as a source of inspiration, exchange of ideas and cause for vivid discussions."

Event: Interactive, Sensor-based Music Systems workshop

Tue, 22 Jul 2014 10:01:05 +0000

31 August, 2014

Sensors allow us to connect the physical world with the world of the machines. During this full-day workshop, participants will get to know the fundamental principles of interactive, sensor-based music systems that can be used for sound installations, live-performances and improvisation.

Topics covered during that workshop:

Connecting sensors with the computer
Conditioning sensor data
Converting sensor data into sound
Performance and improvisation with sensor-based instruments
Artistic use of sensor technology

Technology used amongst others: Ultrasonic sensors, infrared sensor, light sensors, arduino, Max/MSP

Participants are encouraged to bring their own laptops and arduino boards, if available.

Marko Timlin is a Finnish sound artist, musician and composer. His musical career began in the early 1990s, in London, before his subsequent move to former East Berlin, where he became part of the alternative electronic music scene there. In Berlin, he worked together with groups such as "Laub", "rope" and the "17 Hippies", and founded the band "tritop", one of Germany’s first live drum 'n' bass-bands.

Today, he develops his own electronic and digital musical instruments which he plays regularly at concerts. In addition to his concert activities, he designs sound installations, composes computer, theater and dance music, and holds workshops and seminars in colleges and universities.

In recent years he has been teaching at the Music University Trossingen, DE, Sibelius Academy, FI, New York University, USA, and the Royal Conservatory “Victoria Eugenia” Granada, ES.

Further information at: www.timlin.de

Event: Kompass

Sun, 20 Jul 2014 10:22:04 +0000

22 August, 2014

Kompass is a gathering of organisers, artists, urbanists and active cultural instigators, held in Tallinn, Estonia on 21-22 August 2014. Kompass is a joint initiative of Totaldobze Art Centre in Riga and Ptarmigan in Tallinn, and seeks to connect Latvian and Estonian minds to address issues of collaboration activities while developing public space and non-governmental culture.

The goal of Kompass is action and understanding. The event will feature presentations and a panel discussion from prominent actors in both Riga and Tallinn’s scenes, an un-conference in the “bar camp” format, and a series of instant workshops to address topics raised during the event.

Kompass is open for anyone to participate! We will build the event around our personal interactions and sharing our ideas, dreams and strategies. The outcome of Kompass will be future cooperation and collaboration, created by the exchanges which occur.

Event: Mario de Vega presentation and discussion

Thu, 17 Jul 2014 08:56:17 +0000

25 July, 2014

Ptarmigan welcomes Mexican sound artist and composer Mario de Vega to give a presentation of his work, before the evening Sound Room X concert at Kultuurikatla Aed. Mario's work questions the use of technologies of chaos and systems at risk of collapse. His sound goes beyond preconceptions about noise and silence. It offers a unique experience for the senses.

Mario will give a talk and presentation of his work, followed by an open forum for questions and discussion.

Event: Brett Sroka + John W. Fail, adešõn and Ernie's Pop-Up Spa

Tue, 15 Jul 2014 14:38:13 +0000

17 July, 2014

NYC-based trombonist and electronics artist Brett Sroka is at Ptarmigan for a short research-based residency and will be presenting his work in a concert. Brett will play solo and with John W. Fail in a series of thematic improvisations. The audience is encouraged to participate through movement, adding or subtracting sounds, and making their presence active rather than merely listening in silence like the typical concert of improvised music.

adešõn aren't a punk band made up of a dancer and two instrument players.

This event will also feature Ernie's Pop-Up Spa, where local artist Ernest Truely will offer fantastic hair stylings and head/shoulder massages, on stage, while the music is going on.

Event: untitled by Arai Mayumi

Wed, 02 Jul 2014 13:07:57 +0000

06 August, 2014

untitled consists of a solo performer repeating a single continuous action. The artist pokes a series of holes into a transparent, plastic sheet, which is stretched across the space. For three hours, she focuses on both the physical and sonic elements of her action. Performer: Arai Mayumi (Japan/Austria).

Event: Human Space

Mon, 30 Jun 2014 19:32:01 +0000

01 August, 2014

Human space workshop invites participants to collectively embark on a journey through Tallinn using an incorrect map. Together we will celebrate and document entries, exits and boundaries in our search for the edge of the landscape through a series of drawing, sound and movement led exercises. The workshop examines our physical relationship to different spacial environments and ways in which it might be documented and represented in an image, movement or sound.

The workshop is based on the combined interdisciplinary practices of Sara Evelyn-Brown and Meera Shakti Osborne, both scenographers from the UK with a visual artist background. Time, space, movement, sound, map making and journeying, are key themes within their collaborative work.

We like games and rules. Finding ways of creating work collectively, exploring winning and losing, embracing everything. The relationship between the body and the things that we make is also important and a central part of the process.

The workshop is open to all. It may be of specific interest to those working in disciplines including: scenography, performance, sound and visual art.

Schedule for each day- it is important for participants to take part in the walk in preparation for the Friday workshop.

Thursday 31st// Walk - 19.00-21.30

Friday 1st// Workshop- 10.30-17.00

What to bring/wear

1. Bring drawing materials and paper (we will also have spare materials)

2. Wear comfortable footwear & clothing that is good for moving

Event: Pasta Modulare (Tallinn modular meet-up)

Tue, 17 Jun 2014 15:21:12 +0000

23 August, 2014

Pasta Modulare is the first modular synthesizer meet-up in Tallinn, for modular synthesizer enthusaists and hackers. At this event you can show off your projects, explore what others are doing, and meet others in the modular synth scene.

Event: Cut The Trust: Sloganeering Poster Printing Workshop

Tue, 17 Jun 2014 15:20:39 +0000

05 July, 2014

During the workshop participants will design, screen print and distribute an A2 slogan poster. The workshop will take place at the print studio Grafodroom. The slogans, random and ultimately meaningless, have been produced with random slogan generators and will be in estonian and russian languages. The emphasis will be on producing bold, simple posters using 1 to 2 colours and paper stencils for quick execution. The posters will then be pasted around Tallinn.

The workshop is supported by Kulturkontakt Nord.

Event: sense and experience performance

Fri, 13 Jun 2014 11:45:00 +0000

10 August, 2014

A public performance showcasing the output from the sense and experience workshop, led by Jasmin Schaitl and William "Bilwa" Costa. This performance is free and starts at 19:00!

If you would like to participate in the workshop (and henceforth, this performance), please register here.

Post: Walk with us, through Tallinn...

Fri, 13 Jun 2014 10:31:53 +0000

posted 13 June, 2014

Nikki Kane and Will Slater answered our open call, proposing peripatetic projects, based around the act of walking through spaces urban and emotional. Though both of them hail from the still-United Kingdom (Nikki from Glasgow and Will from London), the two did not know each other, though they coincidentally arrived here during the same time and with similar ideas.

We invite you to participate in their walks, starting Monday with Nikki's We Move in Order to See and following it up on Tuesday with Will's Failure's Guide to Finding Tallinn. While both activities are walks, we promise two very different approaches - Nikki will raise questions about how we exist and perceive our surroundings, while Will will inject a personal, emotional angle based on his impressions of Tallinn over the last few days.

Both events will start at Ptarmigan but we will leave the space together at 19:45 and 19:15 respectively, so don't be late!

Event: We Move in Order To See

Fri, 13 Jun 2014 10:16:00 +0000

16 June, 2014

Starts at Ptarmigan at 19:30; the group will leave at 19:45 SHARP!

A short, led walk on a devised route, moving through spaces around the area of Ptarmigan, led by artist-in-residence Nikki Kane.

This walk seeks to consider the effects of the conditions of space and of ‘participation’ on movement, perception and thought. By creating opportunity for both individual and collective experience, its form aims to open out awareness of details in our surroundings that may usually be overlooked.

Event: Failure's guide to finding Tallinn (Instead, I found Finisterre)

Fri, 13 Jun 2014 10:11:53 +0000

17 June, 2014

A walking tour of approximately 60-90 minutes. Meet at Ptarmigan at 19:00; the group will leave at 19:15 SHARP!

In the first performance of an ongoing project, 'What we've learned while walking', Will Slater leads the audience on his attempt at a walking tour of a city that's new to him. He will attempt to find some key historical and cultural landmarks of Tallinn, but with this being an exercise in psychogeography, he will most likely miss the important locations and instead tell you of the associations that he makes bewteen this city, and his memories of other travel destinations that occupy his mind.

Event: Done Kino 2014

Mon, 02 Jun 2014 16:36:09 +0000

17 August, 2014

Done Kino is the first Kino Kabaret cell in Estonia established in 2013. Unlike other Kino events, each year it tackles a different topic, although the same principle: to dig up forgotten and pushed out of the consciousness by ignorance, laziness, procrastination, or fear, issues, and in its holly awkwardness, expose and transform them into the starting point for much more exciting scenarios.

Its second edition takes place at Patarei which from 1840 served many functions in changeable historical times (sea-fortress, military barracks, Soviet and Estonian prison, dark tourism venue), reflecting the long and complex relationships between Estonia and Russia at different stages in their histories. Done Kino 2014 wants to add one more episode to this historical fate: collaboration between Estonian, Russian, and foreign filmmakers.

In order to participate all you have to do is:
1) Right now: check http://donekino.ptarmigan.ee/ to assure that it's all real.
2) Till 14 August 2014: register your participation in the form below. Don't forget to mention what is your preffered function, possible filmmaking equipment and availability.
3) On 15 August 14:00: come for the pitching meeting at Patarei where ideas for the film are presented and filming crews are created. BYOI (bring your own idea) or/and BYOD (bring your own device needed for shooting: camera, tripod, editing laptop, sound recorder, whatever). Wear not too fancy and rather warm clothes. If you are allergic to moist and fungus don't come or take your pills.
4) 15 August 15:00 – 17 August 15:00: shoot, edit, export short films. In Patarei and wherever. Participate. Collaborate.
5) 17 August 16:00: watch all short films created in the last 48 hours. The screening takes place in one of the Patarei halls.

Event: Avarus festival: Jökkijäkkisnäcki 2

Mon, 02 Jun 2014 16:33:19 +0000

16 August, 2014

Avarus!

Longtime Ptarmigan friends Avarus, formed in Tampere (Finland) in 2001, finally visit our Tallinn side for a mini-festival of their expanded universe: Avarus themselves and their various side projects and off-shoots, all melting into electronic and acoustic weirdness.

Featuring live musical acts:

Avarus (Lars Mattila, Roope Eronen, Jukka Räisänen, Tero Niskanen, Arttu Partinen)

Jukat (Tero Niskanen + Jukka Räisänen)

Kemmer (Lars Mattila)

Nuslux (Roope Eronen)

Arttu Partinen (Arttu Partinen)

+ Tallinn/Helsinki upstarts Third Approach (Kimmo Modig, Ted Parker, John W. Fail, Kaarel Künnap, Tuomas A. Laitinen)

and also a disco of some sort!

Event: collaboration #14

Mon, 02 Jun 2014 16:27:01 +0000

02 August, 2014

collaboration is an ongoing series of performances, that address the physical relationship between two artists, while exploring the correlation between, and potentials of:

proximity – distance, transformation – alteration,
tempo – stillness, duration – ephemerality,
and duality – unison.

Using limited materials, each performance focuses on simultaneous actions, and the point where these actions phase, oscillate, and/or conjoin. These actions are repetitive, consistent, clear, precise, thorough and definite. Without narrative, they leave the audience time to assess the actions and interpret or propose her/his own meaning, content and thoughts.

The remnants of these performances are intentional, and remain as visual art installations.

collaboration #14 is a new performance, to be developed by the duo while in residency in Tartu. The duration is one hour.

collaboration #14 is supported by Bundeskanzleramt Österreich and the Austrian Embassy Tallinn.

Event: sense and experience workshop

Mon, 02 Jun 2014 16:24:28 +0000

10 August, 2014

sense and experience is a workshop for artists of all levels, professional and university, and disciplines including: performance art, movement, dance, improvisation, sound, and visual arts; who are interested in exploring solo and collaborative practices. This workshop proposes different approaches to body perceptions and relationships. Participants will explore their individual potential through various techniques of sensory perception, including heightening and omitting senses. We will experiment with improvisation and assessment of/response to; time, space, sound and their correlation with the human senses.The goal of this workshop is to expand personal performance/artistic palettes and working methods.

sense and experience is based on the combined practices of Bilwa (a sound and movement artist originally from US) and Jasmin (a live action-based artist from Vienna), both coming from visual art backgrounds. Their collaboration explores the potentials and correlation of transformation, alteration, duration and ephemerality; and incorporates movement, sound, action, materials, objects, the body, improvisation, and composition. They have performed and/or led workshops in Vienna, Berlin, Tallinn, Oslo, Helsinki, and Istanbul.

schedule for each day:

12:00-14:00
14:00-15:00 lunch break, discussion
15:00-18:00

What to bring/wear:

Bring one object to which you feel related. (emotionally, aesthetically, nostalgically, or otherwise)
Wear comfortable, warm clothes and shoes that are good for running/moving
Bring a book and pen or pencil for writing and drawing.

This workshop is supported by Bundeskanzleramt Österreich and the Austrian Embassy Tallinn.

Event: add to reading list, (click to) share

Mon, 02 Jun 2014 16:01:22 +0000

13 June, 2014

A gathering of people and of information or ideas found on the internet and shared in person - a chance to share an article, video or anything else with a real person rather than a click of mouse, and to see what happens when we look at them as a group.

As part of an ongoing consideration into the form of Literary & Philosophical societies and libraries, and into structures of sharing, finding, organising and ordering knowledge or information, you are invited to add to reading list, (click to) share. In order to explore these in terms of the analogue, physical forms they have taken historically, and in contemporary digital spaces, we will bring knowledge that we have discovered, gathered or shared on online platforms to a physical meeting for lively, real-life pondering and conversation, hopefully thinking a bit about roles of collective learning and working along the way.

Bring something! Anything you've stumbled on or shared online, opened in a new tab, or saved for later - articles, videos, sound clips, whole websites. Bring it along in any form (on a laptop, printed out, scribbled notes, vague memory...) and let's see what happens we share them in the real world.

Event: Guessing Game Jam

Sat, 17 May 2014 20:19:34 +0000

29 June, 2014

Taking the format of a traditional game jam, this event will be an intensive development session of guessing game design.

"A guessing game has as its core a piece of information that one player knows, and the object is to coerce others into guessing that piece of information without actually divulging it in text or spoken word.” - wikipedia

During a period of 24 hours we will design the rules and framework for a face-to-face multiplayer game which involves slowly revealing hidden information in a way that allows the other player(s) to uncover it gradually, resulting in a clear moment of information and measurable game-power transference. We will be talking about methods of hinting; subtle suggestion; symbolic confession; tenuous (mis)understanding and risky communicative shots taken blindfolded. We will aim to fulfil a definition of the game format which includes clear instructions for players and which supports the outcome of a winner (or winners) and a point (or multiple points) of conclusion.

We'll begin at 3pm with an introduction over a big breakfast and keep the coffee from burning through the night as the guesswork takes shape. No game design experience necessary, though it is welcomed warmly.

If sleep is essential, we'll provide a comfortable surface upon which to drop.

More information : HH / OP

Event: Opening Operations: Evelyn Müürsepp (MoKS)

Fri, 09 May 2014 12:18:41 +0000

09 July, 2014

Opening Operations is a monthly series in 2014 that investigates the practical methods through which culture is produced.

Each month, a representative from a different Estonian culture organisation will present their activities as well as their operating budget and finances. The speaker will discuss a challenge or problem unique to their organisation, and the presentation will be followed by a group discussion. The goal is to share methodologies, open dialogues, and research creative alternatives to real-world problems involving money, labour, and collaboration. This project also seeks to democratise and demystify the act of "organising", proceeding from the belief that there is no right or wrong way to do things, and that different approaches breed more exciting and dynamic cultural forms.

This month's speaker is Evelyn Müürsepp. Evelyn Müürsepp-Grzinich is a visual artist and cultural coordinator based in southeast Estonia. After working as an artist-in-residence in Iceland and Finland, she co-initiated MoKS (Mooste Center for Art and Social Practice) in Mooste, Estonia. MoKS is now Estonia's longest-running artist-run initiative, starting in 2001. While coordinating activities and finding financial and mental means for running anartist-in-residence center, she also has maintained her practice as a visual artist.

Light snacks and refreshments will be served, and the discussion will be recorded and released afterwards online in podcast form.

Avatud Toimingud/Opening Operations is a project of Migrating Art Academies and is supported by the Estonian Ministry of Culture.

Event: Opening Operations: Anders Härm (EKKM)

Fri, 09 May 2014 12:08:04 +0000

20 August, 2014

Opening Operations is a monthly series in 2014 that investigates the practical methods through which culture is produced.

This month's speaker is Anders Härm. Anders (born 1977) studied Art History and Theory at the Institute of Art History at the Estonian Academy of Arts (EAA) from 1995-2003. Since 2010 he is active as a program director of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Estonia (EKKM). In the years 2002-2012 he worked as a curator at the Kunsthalle Tallinn. He recently (Oct. – Dec, 2013) curated “Estonian Dream. Festival of Contemporary Art” in Stavanger, Norway consisting of four separate exhibitions at different institutions, from film screening and extra events. His most recent curatorial projects include solo exhibitions by Mark Raidpere (2013 at the EKKM) and Kristina Norman (2010 at the Kunsthalle Tallinn). He has also curated group exhibitions and special projects like “Collection of Desires” (2012) and “Darkness, Dark” (2011) and “Next to Nothing”( 2010) at the EKKM as well as “Untold Stories” (2011) and “Blue Collar Blues” (2009/2010) at the Kunsthalle Tallinn. He curated Estonian National Pavilions of the Venice Biennale at the Architecture Exhibition in 2000 and at the Art Exhibition in 2003. He was one of the artistic directors (together with Priit Raud) of the biannual NU Performance Festival (2005-2011). He was establishing member of the board of EKKM (Museum of Contemporary Art Estonia) In 2009 he published collection of essays and other texts under the title “Diary of a Semiounat. Texts from1999-2008”. He has been lecturing at the Estonian Academy of Arts since the year 2000; since 2006 he curates there a program “Questions of Contemporary Art”. He has also staged three solo lecture-performances and worked as a dramaturge with some contemporary dance performances in Estonia.

Light snacks and refreshments will be served, and the discussion will be recorded and released afterwards online in podcast form.

Avatud Toimingud/Opening Operations is a project of Migrating Art Academies and is supported by the Estonian Ministry of Culture.

Event: Experimental Electromagnetism Workshop with Peter Flemming

Tue, 29 Apr 2014 14:39:52 +0000

01 July, 2014

In this workshop, you will wind an electromagnetic coil with magnet wire, to be used as part of of an improvised loudspeaker along with a found-object resonator that you bring in. We will start with a short presentation on the connection between electricity and magnetism, including a practical demonstration with a makeshift electromagnetic pendulum and micro-ampere generator. The rest of the workshop is devoted to experimentation. Possible resonators: plastic containers, buckets, drums, cans, glass. Does it sound good when you tap your finger on it or speak into it? Bring it in! Bring many things, as not everything will work, hence the experimentation.

workshop philosophy:
This is a workshop for artists, taught by an artist. Artists excel at pattern recognition, obstinately persevering and intuitively understanding complex ideas, making them good candidates for learning electricity and electronics. The emphasis is therefore on developing a gut awareness of the subject matter through experimentation, pattern recognition and analogy, rather than an approach based in memorization, formulae and equations.

Peter Flemming is a Canadian artist active for over fifteen years and working with robotics, kinetics, electronics, mechanics, sound, video, performance and new media. His past work has included lazy machines, solar powered robotics, and hypnotically repetitive automata. His current ongoing projects make use of improvisational kinetics and intuitive electronics, exploring sound and resonance in installations and performances featuring electromagnetically activated materials, mechanical performers and makeshift amplification devices. His research has included the use of embedded computers (microcontrollers), motor control systems, networked artworks in remote locations, HAM, AM and FM radio, and designs for open-source hardware kits. He has exhibited extensively at galleries, festivals and museums both nationally and internationally, garnering numerous grants and awards to support both his research and creative practice.