"Steve Kaspar / Hans W. Koch"
2003-05-17 until 2003-07-13
ccnoa
Brussels, , BE Belgium

"Having experimented, since the '70s, with a large variety of materials in a number of disciplines, Steve Kaspar participates in a training course in new musical theatre with Mauricio Kagel in Cologne. Incited by these experiences, he dedicates himself to audio-visual and theatrical performances and reflections, collaborating with the 'Stalker' in Brussels (B). Since the early '90's, Kaspar's research has condensed into cycles of drawings sound compositions, which all underline the general theme of 'Generation'.

He explores the noisy, violent and contradictory domain of the fields of the "ineffable," in order to attain a 'form' that is a precipitate of time and space; an astounding shape resembling a comet's tail and as crystalline as a metaphor." () Foundation and point of departure for Kaspar's artistic practice are the very sounds he experiences in his daily environment. Recorded / collected via tape-recorder and / or video-camera, they are archived and subsequently electronically propelled to their very borderline - transient 'elements', which at any given point in time might raise a new discussion with the material and or lead to yet another transposition. Focusing on the resonance of these 'elements', their matrix, their principal structure/grid, their topological use, and their analogue treatment, Kaspar aims to encounter the original in a sound, to capture its essence, to give expression to its spiritual phenomenon. The subsequent manipulation and composition of these 'elements' results in multi-layered sphere sounds. For Kaspar, sound is an experiential / empirical reality. His 'sound-scapes' / sound-architectures are based on his notion that sound is an experiential / empirical reality and therefore should be experienced not only mentally but also physically.

Audio-visual artist, composer, performer Hans W. Koch works with electronic-sound produced by or taken from everyday-tools: household-electronics, hairdryers, steel wool for cleaning pots and pans or old computers. Combining these sounds in unusual ways to reveal the more hidden aspects of their functionality, he aims to transform them into instruments. Emerging music-like structures during this process are more or less a side effect of the search for the proper abuse of these objects. Simultaneously, Koch works with digital means, trying to explore their boundaries and implicit faults, in order to arrive at interactions which keep a live of their own and react in an unpredictable way to human input". His audio-visual installation Computermusik I - exploded view for computer-corpse and live electronic explores the instrumental potential of an old and out-of-service computer, not in terms of bits and bytes, but through a direct attack on the circuit board. "Signals are taken from the >=legs" of the circuitry, the "working - rhythms" of the computer are transposed into the audible range by ring modulation; paths and changes in the innermost of the machine are unveiled. Because of the irreversible changes resulting from those intrusions and manipulations, it is impossible to produce repeatable results: even a short rehearsal with the chosen computer changes its inner structure to such an extent, that results on stage would be totally different. Thus, preparation means gathering experiences with the setup in order to gain a repertory of sound-finding strategies, facing an unknown computer on stage." (HK 2002) At CCNOA, a prerecorded version of Computermusik I will be exhibited. On 13 June 2003, Koch will, however, perform a live-'dissection' of a computer, which will be recorded and displayed during the second half of the exhibition.

about CCNOA Since its inception in 1998, CCNOA, a multidisciplinary non-profit exhibition space in Brussels, has organized more then 40 solo and group exhibitions with artists from around the globe. CCNOA focuses exclusively on research, development, production and dissemination of artists' projects in the field of contemporary art, architecture, and media. Located in central Brussels, this 160 square meters Œwhite cube‚ exhibition space is the brainchild of Petra Bungert, former Head of Administration at New York‚s P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center and Director of New York-based Petra Bungert Projects (1995-97).

IMAGE:
Hans W. Koch,
[alias : sound], 2000
A large tube and a digital delay
create a feedback-loop

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