Simon Steen-Andersen (1976)

loloopop (2006)

audiovisual installation

electronic work

  • General information
    • Composition date: 2006

Premiere information

  • Date: 25 June 2006
    Location:

    Iles Féroé, Tórshavn, “Summertóner” Festival.


Information on the electronics
Electronic device: dispositif multimédia (vidéo, lumière)

Observations

Œuvre créée avec l'artiste visuel Carl Krull.

Program note

loloopop consists of 2 visual loops and 3 audio loops of different duration (between 3 and 4.5 min.). Each loop is a series of linear transitions between more or less figurative/concrete elements and states. Each loop ”bites its own tail” and thus has no beginning or end. loloopop is an examination of timing, context and changeability of ambiguous elements or situations in the meeting with different powerful influential elements. The different lengths of the loops will constantly produce new combinations and relations of the elements and situations of the different layers. The result is a series of inter-communicating dramatic layers, appearing in the moment and touching themes like timing, syntax and the different directions of association and the changeability of different situations and problems according to context and point of view. The ”event-space” consists of everything from open situations, rorschach tests and symbols to more political, sociological and human aspects. The different durations of the loops – all between 3 and 4.5 minutes – make sure that the 4 primary layers won’t meet at the exact same point before after 52 years, 211 days, 4 hours, 15 minutes and 36 seconds! The ideal realization of the installation is in a dark room with the 2 animations projected as large as possible on 2 ”meeting” walls and 4 loudspeakers placed in each corner of the room – 2 at the floor and 2 in the ceiling. Smaller alternative versions can be made with monitors in a bright an open space. This either means a relative loud sound level or a very limited audience at the same time by using headphones.The techniques used in the 2 animations are ”process recording” and ”flash-animation”. Process recording is a technique to record the actual drawing process on the computer. The animation becomes a constant building up, erasing and re-interpretation of figures and elements. Process and result melts together and becomes one. Flash-animation is a technique where figures and elements are defined by a number of points and layers, after which one can create transitions between the different elements by calculating the movements of the points between 2 figures. The result is a complex dynamic animation with many abstract transition-states and a constant restlessness and sense of forward direction. The techniques of the 2 primary electroacustic tracks are free associative transformation and a kind of parallel to ”process recording”. In both cases the starting point is concrete sounds, but they are treated and transformed as if they had been abstract musical material. One sound only just establishes itself before it is transformed into another. Or the sound is regarded purely from its sounding qualities and put into clear abstract structures or series of events. The technique or the dogma parallel to ”process recording” is only to perform one operation on a short sound before it is repeated, so that one can follow the transformation process step by step – process and result melts together. Great dynamic differences and incorporated interruptions either occasionally give exclusive space for the other track or demand full attention. The third track is an ambient background layer that only very slowly shifts back and forth between a deep and a high state or texture. This track is played in stereo from above (in contrast to the 2 other tracks played in mono from speakers on the floor).Therefore it ”fills out” or colors the whole room in spite of being much softer than the 2 primary tracks. Words are cut into the 4 primary loops as a inter-connecting meta-layer that constantly creates meaning and syntax across the different loops. Also subliminals (pictures lasting 1 frame) are cut into the visual loops as a subconscious coloring of the situations.