2009

The Trend Is Your Friend!

a performative and interactive artistic experiment

MedienKunstLabor | KUNSTHAUS GRAZ
26. 9.— 8. 11. 2009

Idea, Concept, Artwork: Sylvia Eckermann
Concept, Art Research, Text: Gerald Nestler

Sound architecture: Peter Szely

The Trend Is Your Friend! Installationview MKL | Kunsthaus Graz

more about the project: Sylvia Eckermann

The Trend is your Friend!
is an artistic and experimental translation of the market as a model that increasingly interferes with our social environment.
The installation takes a close look at economic trends that relate to finance, commodities, fashion, media, consumption, and many other spheres of life.

TIYF! is a machine that is constructed from visuals and sound, and is triggered by robots. The work questions the economic world and the market place—this persistent environment that surrounds us. It asks: How can we influence this environment and what is our role in the "game"?

The sound architecture

by Peter Szely

The sound architecture of TIYF! is, of course, geared towards the visual level of the game.
The division of the three markets on the projection surface, namely Utopia to the left, Combat in the middle and Value to the right, also has its counterpart in acoustic space.

The three projections, each of which is divided into 25 levels, can be heard in space as 25 4-channel pieces of the three themes for each projection. The loudspeakers or audio points of the individual worlds of sound are chosen in such a way that the respective world of sound takes up an area in front of the projection screen, and the different areas overlap and form a whole.

Trend sounds
The sound constantly changes since the course of the game changes. The buy and sell decisions of the players direct the current of sound. New sound impressions are constantly being created depending on which level the players are playing. The sound architecture thickens and an ever more massive current of sound rains down on the players.

Bubble sounds
If a bubble forms, the world that formed the bubble will leave its audio points. It expands, the others go silent and the bubble can be heard throughout the room. The other worlds of sound are suppressed and become quieter and quieter until they can no longer be heard. The world that formed the bubble will get louder and louder. It will take possession of all the loudspeakers and will fill the room. The bubble bursts, and all the projections and the sound architecture will regain their space.

The three worlds also differ in terms of sound:
Utopia is formed of ambient sounds, from the paradisiacal state of being naked surrounded by nature to today’s urban metropolis. The crickets chirp and the birds sing. This spectrum of sound slowly changes. Vacuum cleaners can be heard, someone is practising piano, the hammering of a construction site, a train roars by and finally sirens wail. Then one can make out the dull drone of street traffic and an airplane thunders overhead.

Combat is a beat that comes from the physicality of fighting. It clatters and cracks and kickboxers come into view like dancers. It begins with a single beat and then condenses into rhythms and beat structures until a rhythmical sound remains at standstill.

Value is formed by the abstract sounds of synthesizers. The field of sound constantly grows and increases in intensity and the cellular primordial soupy haze turns into a human head that ends as a solidified golden mask. The sound revolves around its own axis and fills the room palpably as a buzzing chord.