Master Classes - Sonic acts 2013

stedelijk|do it!
Sonic Acts 2013: The Dark Universe
Master Classes
February 18-24, 2013

CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS: SONIC ACTS MASTERCLASSES
February 18–24, 2013, Amsterdam

APPLICATION DEADLINE
February 15, 2013

MASTERCLASS LEADERS
Tony Conrad, Goodiepal, CM von Hausswolff & Mike Harding, Trevor Paglen, Steina & Woody Vasulka

In collaboration with the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, STEIM, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, and EYE, Sonic Acts will host a series of master classes as part of this year’s festival, The Dark Universe. The master classes provide a unique opportunity for artists, musicians, and other creative professionals to work with five internationally renowned artists. In a concentrated and intimate setting, participants will gain insight into the artists’ concepts, work processes, methods of composition, production, and research through hands-on workshops, discussions, and seminars.

TO PARTICIPATE
The master classes are aimed at professional artists, musicians, composers, filmmakers, academics, and advanced students. Deadline for applications is February 5. Please send a biography and a short statement of purpose outlining why you would like to take part in a specific master class to: masterclass@sonicacts.com.

Attending multiple classes is possible. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered. You will be informed about the decision on your application by February 10. A detailed schedule, as well as more information about the preparation for the master class, will be sent to successful applicants with this notification.

FEE
There is a participation fee of € 35,00 per master class. Catering will be provided. Master class participants will receive reduced admission for the festival (professional accreditation for € 65,00).

DATES & LOCATIONS
The master classes take place at the Stedelijk Museum, STEIM, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, and EYE in Amsterdam.

February 18–19:  Goodiepal
February 18–21:  CM von Hausswolff & Mike Harding
February 19:   Tony Conrad
February 19–20:  Steina & Woody Vasulka
February 24:   Trevor Paglen (Stedelijk Museum)

ABOUT THE MASTERS AND THE MASTER CLASSES

Tony Conrad (US) is an avant-garde video artist, experimental filmmaker, musician/composer, sound artist, teacher, and writer. A pioneering force behind the evolution of minimalism, Conrad introduced the idea of Eternal Music, a droning, mesmerizing performance idiom which employed long durations, amplification, and precise pitch to explore new worlds of sound. Conrad’s master class will be an extended lecture performance about his work, artistic concepts, and thoughts, touching on both his film work (The Flicker) and drone music.

Goodiepal (Gæoudjiparl) (FO/DK) is a controversial musician and composer of his own kind of radical computer music. He declared intellectual war against the stupidity of modern computer music and media art when he quit his job at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus. He performs and lectures about his work and ideas worldwide and travels on his special bicycle, which enables him to produce the electricity he requires. In this way, he gets closer to mechanics and experiments with transhumanism. His recent book, El Camino del Hardcore, features his graphic notation work. His master class, aimed at DIY artists, composers, and media artists will be an exchange of thoughts in which the work of the participants will also be discussed.

CM von Hausswolff (SE) is a composer and a conceptual artist. Sound recording devices are his main instrument as a composer. As a conceptual artist, he works with performance art, light and sound installations, and photography. Mike Harding (UK) is a curator, producer, lecturer, and music publisher. He runs the Touch label with Jon Wozencroft. In the master class led by CM von Hausswolff & Mike Harding, participants will work on their own version of freq_out. For freq_out – a concept by CM von Hausswolff – 12 participants are allotted ranges of frequency within the audible sound spectrum. Participant number one will be allotted 0–25 Hz, number two 25–65 Hz, and so on. Over a period of four days, the task of the participants is to compose one sound work each. The work cannot contain any sounds beyond the allotted frequency range, but can be of any length and is played back as a loop. The final work consists of 12 smaller works joined together into a whole.

Trevor Paglen (US) is an artist and geographer. His work deliberately blurs lines between science, contemporary art, journalism, and other disciplines to construct unfamiliar yet meticulously researched ways to see and interpret the world. He is the author of five books, including Blank Spots on the Map: The Dark Geography of the Pentagon's Secret World, and numerous articles on subjects such as experimental geography, state secrecy, military symbology, photography, and visuality. His most recent book, The Last Pictures, is a meditation on the intersections of deep time, politics, and art. His master class focuses on his methodologies and different ways of conducting research.

Steina and Woody Vasulka (IS/CZ/US) are major figures in video history, technical pioneers who have contributed enormously to the evolution of the medium and who continue to be major practitioners of video as art. The Vasulkas’ technological investigations into analog and digital processes and their development of electronic imaging tools, which began in the early 1970s, place them among the primary architects of an expressive electronic vocabulary of image making. Their master class will be a discussion of the development of their practice and working methodologies, and will reflect how the change of technologies and interfaces influences the presentation, documentation, and archiving of their work.

The full program of Sonic Acts – The Dark Universe (February 21-24, 2013) is online at www.sonicacts.com

All information on the master classes can be found online at http://2013.sonicacts.com/masterclasses-call-for-participants/

The Sonic Acts Master Classes are made possible with the support of the Mondriaan Fund (www.mondriaanfonds.nl) and from the European Commission.
(This communication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.)