MAstars 2009: Ania Szwajgier, MA Composition and Sonic Art

MAstars 2009: Ania Szwajgier, MA Composition and Sonic Art Ania Szwajgier, Ballad for the Zacheta Gallery, 2009. Documentation of a performance. 21 mins

Allia Ali selects Ania Szwajgier from Oxford Brookes University for MAstars


Ania Szwajgier’s film 'Ballad for the Zacheta Gallery' (2009) is the documentation of an acoustic performance (a collaboration with the artist Zorka Wollny), inspired by the history of Zacheta National Art Gallery in Warsaw, where a wide spectrum of sounds and noises are produced by eleven performers moving around the building.

The work is not a direct recording of the performance. Like spectators from afar, we are led by sound through the gallery spaces by ghostly figures, and are shown more than the audience present at the performance - their experience was one of sound only. The theatre-like staircase of the gallery hosted this music concert. Its amazing acoustics became a key component of the composition, allowing a richer experience for the audience as the building stood in semi-darkness.

By using slow motion and overlapping of video tracks, the resulting piece evokes the special atmosphere of the building, and references the specific functionality of the building and the important historical events connected with its existence. However, this reference is more metaphorical and imaginary than literal, merging the relationship between sound and its source.

Ania Szwajgier is an artist born in Krakow, where she graduated from the Academy of Music in 2005. 'Ballad for the Zacheta Gallery' is her most recent collaborative project. She previously worked with Zorka Wollny on performances: Concert for High Heels (Krakow 2004), Concert for Landesmuseum (Muenster 2005), How to move around in the space of a gallery demonstrating experience, refinement and understanding of art? (Royal College of Art, London 2009).

Selected by Allia Ali
Published November, 2009


Further information

brookes.ac.uk

 

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