Visit to the ICA & 180 Strand
On Tuesday (5th Nov), we went on a field trip to the Insititute of Contemporary Arts and 180 Strand.
The first place that we visited was the Institute of Contemporary Arts. The exhibit is called "Omnibus" which was curated by the Honey-Suckle Company, an art collective based in Berlin.
We visited the ICA to get inspiration for our visual essay assignment, however, to be frankly honest, I did not quite understand the installations that were shown there. It was a little bit too abstract for me and I did not really enjoy them.
Description of the exhibition. Image by author.
However, there was an installation that intrigued me.
Ohn End, 2005 by Honey-Suckle Company
Description
This is a contemporary music composition and sound installation built by the Honey-Suckle Company in collaboration with Konrad Sprenger. The room houses blankets and metal rods draped over one another while Konrad's music composition is played in the background.
After doing much research about the installation, I found out that "Eau d’Ohn End" is the name of the composition that was playing in the background which was produced in conjunction with the exhibition. It is a combination of sounds made by the harp, motor-guitars and electric guitars.
From Konrad Sprengers, it explains further the composition. I was not able to comprehend or explain the sounds that were being played while I was at the exhibition, but it had this weirdly dreamy yet mysterious feeling. "The initial ghostly snoring sound in the piece Eau d’Ohn End has a frightening but also burlesque effect. Only after some time, a zither answers and creates a dream world carpet of sound through quiet rhythm. In the end, all that remains is the croaking of the revolving harp from the beginning." (Hiltbrunner, 2019)
Personal Response
When I first entered the room, I was immediately stunned by the sound of mosquitoes. It was so realistic that I literally jumped and was wondering where the sound was coming from. When I was walking around the installation the sounds were consistently playing in the background and I was kind of in awe of how realistic it sounded.
To be frankly honest, I had no idea what was going on while I was looking at this installation. With the sounds playing in the background while I was looking at blankets draped over metal rods, I really could not make of it. My friends and I were mostly intrigued by the sounds playing in the background rather than the actual installation.
Reflection
I think why I thought that way about the exhibition was because I could not really understand the purpose of it. As much as I appreciate art like this, it personally was not really my cup of tea. But why I decided to write about this installation was because of the whole sensory experience.
From Konrad's website which further explains the use of music in this installation, "Music is capable of carrying rich messages and attitudes; it induces passing moods and alters perception. Quite rightly, the HSC have used music to confuse their audiences and destabilize and upset their firm expectation of only having visual pleasure at exhibitions." (http://www.konradsprenger.com/honey-suckle-company, 2019) This was what intrigued me that though I personally might not understand the art that is in front of me, with the eerieness of the music accompanied by the unexplainable installation, it somehow works.
Bibliography
Honey-Suckle Company (2005) Ohn End [Installation]. Institute of Contemporary Arts (Viewed: 5 November 2019).
http://www.konradsprenger.com/honey-suckle-company (2019) (Accessed: 17 November 2019)
The first place that we visited was the Institute of Contemporary Arts. The exhibit is called "Omnibus" which was curated by the Honey-Suckle Company, an art collective based in Berlin.
We visited the ICA to get inspiration for our visual essay assignment, however, to be frankly honest, I did not quite understand the installations that were shown there. It was a little bit too abstract for me and I did not really enjoy them.
Description of the exhibition. Image by author.
However, there was an installation that intrigued me.
Ohn End, 2005 by Honey-Suckle Company
Description
This is a contemporary music composition and sound installation built by the Honey-Suckle Company in collaboration with Konrad Sprenger. The room houses blankets and metal rods draped over one another while Konrad's music composition is played in the background.
After doing much research about the installation, I found out that "Eau d’Ohn End" is the name of the composition that was playing in the background which was produced in conjunction with the exhibition. It is a combination of sounds made by the harp, motor-guitars and electric guitars.
From Konrad Sprengers, it explains further the composition. I was not able to comprehend or explain the sounds that were being played while I was at the exhibition, but it had this weirdly dreamy yet mysterious feeling. "The initial ghostly snoring sound in the piece Eau d’Ohn End has a frightening but also burlesque effect. Only after some time, a zither answers and creates a dream world carpet of sound through quiet rhythm. In the end, all that remains is the croaking of the revolving harp from the beginning." (Hiltbrunner, 2019)
Personal Response
When I first entered the room, I was immediately stunned by the sound of mosquitoes. It was so realistic that I literally jumped and was wondering where the sound was coming from. When I was walking around the installation the sounds were consistently playing in the background and I was kind of in awe of how realistic it sounded.
To be frankly honest, I had no idea what was going on while I was looking at this installation. With the sounds playing in the background while I was looking at blankets draped over metal rods, I really could not make of it. My friends and I were mostly intrigued by the sounds playing in the background rather than the actual installation.
Reflection
I think why I thought that way about the exhibition was because I could not really understand the purpose of it. As much as I appreciate art like this, it personally was not really my cup of tea. But why I decided to write about this installation was because of the whole sensory experience.
From Konrad's website which further explains the use of music in this installation, "Music is capable of carrying rich messages and attitudes; it induces passing moods and alters perception. Quite rightly, the HSC have used music to confuse their audiences and destabilize and upset their firm expectation of only having visual pleasure at exhibitions." (http://www.konradsprenger.com/honey-suckle-company, 2019) This was what intrigued me that though I personally might not understand the art that is in front of me, with the eerieness of the music accompanied by the unexplainable installation, it somehow works.
Bibliography
Honey-Suckle Company (2005) Ohn End [Installation]. Institute of Contemporary Arts (Viewed: 5 November 2019).
http://www.konradsprenger.com/honey-suckle-company (2019) (Accessed: 17 November 2019)
Comments
Post a Comment