|
Protest Songbook
A project by Big Hope: Miklós Erhardt &
Dominic Hislop.
Project
Description:
Big Hope: Miklos Erhardt and Dominic Hislop, recorded
telephone interviews with New York based artist Martha
Rosler, Glasgow based artist Ross
Birrell and Torino based political activist Elio
Gilardi,
about the connections between music, art and
political engagement, as part of a radio programme broadcast
on Radio Helsinki in Graz. Edited versions of those interviews were
compiled for Romanian art magazine, 'IDEA'. Those excerpts can be
read by clicking on the relevant name above or in the left column.
The full interview transcripts can be read from links on those pages.
An interview with Rhode Island based musician, Geoff
Farina has also been added.
An archive of public contributions
(by e-mail and from
a gallery exhibition - shown above -at Rotor in Graz)
of protest songs and views on the topic can be viewed here:
Song
Archive
A PDF file of
the pages made for IDEA Magazine, Romania, can be downloaded. Layout
by Oliver Schneider, Berlin.
Installation and Opening performance at 'Balkon Konsulat' exhibition.
Installation:
A variety of 'protest songs' (collected from an open e-mail call
for entries) were assembled on 'placards' placed in beer crates
around an informal 'stage'. An acoustic guitar was left so that
visitors might be encouraged to take the 'stage' and try to play
some of the songs themselves. A radio programme broadcast on Radio
Helsinki featuring music
and phone interviews with some political activists: Elio Gilardi
(from Torino Disobbedienti), artists: Martha Rosler (New York) &
Ross Birrell (Glasgow) and musicians: Janos Veto (Budapest) about
the above mentioned topic was available to be listened to as a sound file on a computer near the
installation. A street performance of some of the songs adapted
to acoustic guitars on pedestrian streets in the centre of Graz
was made and documented on video.
Other songs were played on the 'stage' on the opening night.
Acknowledgements:
Thanks to everyone who has sent a contribution to the song
archive, Rotor organisation and staff (Margarethe, Anton, Sabine)
Radio Helsinki (Manfred, Leo & Gudrun) Manamana: (Tibor Varnagy)
and Judit Angel.
Thanks to Oliver Schneider for the layout in IDEA magazine.
Street
Performance of suggested Protest Songs.
This project was exhibited as a representation of the Hungarian
paper, Manamana
Links:
www.ligetgaleria.c3.hu
www.indymedia.hu
Radio
Helsinki
|
