Today is the 20th anniversary of the
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
In remembrance this tank man tango was performed in cities around the world today.
Visit http://www.forget2forget.net to find out more.
This photo from Bristol, UK.
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“..the show made me notice the beauty and cinematic elegance of everyday life itself” – SuitYourself Magazine
The first subtlemob was created as part of this piece.
Originally commissioned by Mayfest Theatre Festival.
What happens when everyone in the city is listening to the same song?
Wearing headphones, you begin to travel across the city, the soundtrack in your ears turning the world around into your personal cinema. Suddenly a stranger stops you and puts a hand on your shoulder. Their lips don’t move but in your ears you can somehow hear their voice. It feels like telepathy as they begin to speak the words to the song that’s playing in their head…
You continue to move across the city, sometimes guided, sometimes alone; as events unfold in front of you it becomes harder to tell which are staged and which are real.
Built using ‘mscape’, the audience were given handheld computers with headphones. The music score they heard was controlled by satellite positioning and changed to reflect the physical location of the audience. Some performers carried battery powered wifi beacons in their pockets. When they were near an audience member the device carried by the audience would play a recording of that performers voice, the effect was like being able to hear a persons thoughts. Another group of performers were a ’subtlemob’, who roamed the streets following instructions given to them on an MP3 player, they performed everyday actions around the audience, creating a sense of deja-vu as you saw similar events occuring all around you.
SOUNDTRACK BY DUNCAN SPEAKMAN SARAH ANDERSON SAM HALMARAK
DEVISED AND PERFORMED WITH TOM WAINRIGHT MARTHA KING SYLVIA RIMAT ALEX BRADLEY EMMA BUSH SITA CALVERT-ENNALS
COMMISSIONED BY MAYFEST AND ARNOLFINI LIVE
SUPPORTED BY PERVASIVE MEDIA STUDIO BUILT WITH MSCAPE
VIDEO DOCUMENTATION DEB HEARNE
GRATITUDE TO (AND INSPIRATION FROM) CLARE REDDINGTON HELEN COLE TOM MELAMED BEN CLAYTON KATE YEDIGAROFF MATTHEW AUSTIN JO CUTHBERT SIMON GAMESEMILIE GRENIER GENEVIEVE BROWN CARO WINTER JOLYON GREENAWAY VANESSA BELLAAR SPRUIJT BETTINA SCHEIBE PAUL CLARKE ROD DICKINSON PHOEBE DAVIES ROTOZAZA WIM WENDERS ALL THE SUBTLE MOBS
FOR JANICE
working on structure of ‘my world is empty without you’ . . . the eternal benefits of post-it notes
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although I generally advocate listening to the world there are times when picking the right iPod soundtrack is the best way to deal with difficult environments. Moving through crowds in London is, for me, one of those situations.
There are numerous songs and compositions that work, but I almost always return to the heartachingly beautiful textures of Tim Hecker; his music creates the kind of ‘world as cinema’ that I dream of making in my performances.
This picture was taken as I walked north from Waterloo listening to his new album "an imaginary landscape".
In my ears are low pulsing tones and warm washes of distorted harmonies, in my eyes are tears.
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My studio is in workshop mode thanks to Kathy Hinde + Sarah Nicolls.
I’d like to start having some micro-residencies/collaborations here,
want to come make something?
duncanspeakman.net
twitter.com/duncanspeakman
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[harbourside neighbour returns, migration holiday over?]
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[videobloggingweek2009] [yes, it's late, i was on holiday, deal with it]
day 6 – ‘what’s the kindest thing anyone’s done for you recently?’
