Récord, recórd, recollection, 2003-2008

Abstract

Like the magnetic head of tape recorder reading a cassette tape, viewers are invited to draw on the portraits to retrieve voices from the portraits they are drawing on. By the end of the exhibit, the portraits will fade leaving a documentation of the viewers listening. These exhibited portraits are of people who have contributed to an audio archive describing their memories of obsolete socialist monuments in central European capitals.The portraits are made from unfixed van dyke prints and are of people who have contributed to an audio archive describing their memories of obsolete socialist monuments in Central Europe. Each portraits has between 6 and 12, 7x7 force sensing resisters (FSRs), or flat track pad-like sensors undernearth them; the sensors are attached to an analogue to digital converter (Gluion), hand-made by Sukandar Kartadinata, that converts the FSR signal to OSC protocol on an Apple G4, with Isadora software programmed by Mark Coniglio, triggering and manipulating the audio files. This project is grateful for the support of J William Fulbright Association, CEC Artslink International, the Imaging Research Center at UMBC and the Department of Visual Arts.The first project was made in Berlin of former East Berliners remembering the Friedrichstrasse, a north/south inner city, mitte, road that divided the city just to the east of the wall. Also, a project by New Yorkers remembering what the WTC looked like prior to 9/11, including folks who worked there. This documentation focus' on the archive built in Prague and Budapest.Variations on the installation have been exhibited in St. Petersburg, Russia; New York, NY; Prague; Australia and the University of Utah.© Lisa Moren, 2003-2008