2nd edition of KorSonoR
KorSonoR, a biennial exhibition-festival dedicated to sound and visual arts, explores sound in our environment, whether physical, social, memorial, technological, architectural or natural. What we mean by ‘sound’ is very rich: voice, acoustics, electronics, field recording, spatial resonance, human and non-human sound, etc. Sound is omnipresent, with emotional, documentary, memorial, socio-cultural, political and creative implications. Sound implies listening and attention, which leads to discovery, stimulates the imagination and raises questions. Sound implies time, which allows us to take a step back, towards both personal introspection and an understanding of the world.
KorSonoR is inspired by the figure and work of Max Neuhaus, the “father” of sound installation, who designed three works for Geneva, including one of the rare permanent installations in the public space, Promenade du pin (2002). This presence links the world history of sound art with the Geneva art scene. KorSonoR also draws on the notion of deep listening, which aims to differentiate between what is heard and what is listened to, and which was highlighted by the composer Pauline Oliveros, to whom a neon work by the visual artist Émilie Ding pays tribute on a building façade in Plainpalais.
The exhibition-festival will feature performance-concerts, installations, sculptures, videos, films, residencies, discussions and collaborative projects. It brings together 17 individual artists, duos and collectives and collaborative projects—representing about 80 participants in total — with diverse backgrounds from 13 different countries, ranging in age from 24 to 87. Taking place across Geneva, the festival collaborates with 17 partners (multi-purpose venues, iconic architectural sites, museums, a botanical garden, a theatre, a cinema, higher education institutions, a record label and artistic platforms).
This edition is divided into two periods. In August, it offers two preambles, each set in a context that determines the orientation of the works. The relationship between sound and architecture guides a sound activation at the Pavillon Sicli, and the relationship between sound and nature is explored at the Geneva Botanical Garden. In October, a satellite project will be presented in Venice. And in October-November, the exhibition-festival will be spread between Le Commun as the central building, the Fonderie Kugler as a second exhibition and concert space, the public space for a sound work in the public space, and seven other venues for one-off events.
Several collaborative projects attest to Arta Sperto’s interest in involving artists and partners in the construction of the KorSonoR program. In Dimitri de Perrot’s installation at Le Commun, Bongo Joe and the Geneva University of Music are invited to propose artists who will use an original device for a series of live sets. In the installation Multiverse of a Birdcage, authors Alexandre Joly and Daniel Zea bring together sound contributions from 29 musicians and invite four artists in residence to compose in, with, and for the installation. Ensemble Vide and KorSonoR are working together on a concert by the Valby Vokalgruppe collective, accompanied by visual projections by Francis Baudevin. A project by Jean-Luc Hervé is being carried out with Utopiana and the Musicology Unit of the University of Geneva. Two films by Marie Losier are co-programmed with the Cinémas du Grütli. Sound performances by Gilles Aubry and Ahmed Essyad are also part of the program of events for the Afrosonica exhibition at the Museum of Ethnography.
These collaborations, as well as projects hosted by other institutions, aim to bring together different types of audiences, develop elective affinities, and experiment with sound works in contexts that enrich their approaches and understandings.
Olivier Kaeser, curator of KorSonoR