Video Performances at Ark (Boston)

Ark is pleased to present a night of video peformances by Sven Konig (Denmark), QFWFQ Duo (Poland>Argentina>Boston), and Gunung Sari (NYC) on September 1st, 2007.


Sven Konig comes by way of Denmark to perform his project sCrAmBlEd ?HaCkZ!, in which cut up segments of music videos are reordered and reassembled so fast that, no sooner have the words left your mouth, you hear them spoken back to you. sCrAmBlEd ?HaCkZ! analyses the audio portion of a video file to determine the tempo of the incoming audio, and then slices it up into discrete chunks of a quarter note, eighth note, sixteenth note and so on. Using a large number of vectors, those slices are classified into a database according to their sonic characteristics. When the user sends new audio information to the program using e.g. voice and microphone, it follows approximately the same process, becoming classified in the database. The software outputs the pre-analysed sample that is most similar to the newly cached sample. The result, which can be seen in the video, is the ability to reconfigure a number of music videos on the fly, so that they produce a sound similar to whatever is inputed. On screen the software plays the frames of video that accompany the selected audio.

QFWFQ Duo is Andrea and Greg Kowalski. The two met in Poland, where Greg produced films and Andrea studied music. They then moved to Argentina for five years (where Andrea is from) and they now reside in Salem, MA. During this time, Andrea has built on her formal music training while Greg has pursued his interest in sound-image interaction by combining sound, image and motion to create an interactive and immersive experience.
QFWFQ Duo has performed in Buenos Aires at the Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum of Modern Art and the International Experimenta Festival as well as Podevil in Berlin among others. Greg and Andrea have since been performing at many venues throughout New England. They were just part of the recent Boston Cybertarts Festival and NIME 2007 (International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression).

Gunung Sari is Nick Lesley, Stanley Ruiz, and Michael Dotolo. The three perform “mountain style electronic music” that incorporates their interest in obscure gamelan and folk music from Southeast Asia to the avant noise of downtown New York. They combine homemade electronics, analog boxes, percussions, handcrafted wearable noisemakers, and toys in their performances. They also incorporate video projections that utilize the computer as a tool for sound and image synthesis. Gunung Sari is interested in multimedia collaborative performances, spatial treatment of sound and the raw power of noise.
Gunung Sari is based in Brooklyn, New York and have performed in festivals like Bent 2006 + 2007, LaSuperette at Eyebeam, Noise! Fest organized by free103point9 radio at The Ontological Hysteric Theater, Flow at Monkeytown, Phi Phenomena, and Frequencies. They have also played in venues such as The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Issue Project Room, and Cakeshop.

Curated by Andrew Shea

see http://andrewshea.com for more details/map

Ark is located at 17 Edinboro Street, #3, Chinatown (Boston)

4pm: sculpture by Jesse Kaminsky and a site specific installation by Charlie Mathis
8pm: Video Performances Sven Konig, QFWFQ Duo and Gunung Sari

Ark doubles as a loft and a collaborative performance space for music and visual art
Contact Andrew if you're interested in showing work or curating a show