m e t a p h o n i c a

About Phonebook BEAP 2007

Call into the Phonebook installation using one of the numbers above and leave a message at the prompt! It should appear here and in the Spectrum Gallery installation itself within 10 minutes.

Remember, when you call these numbers you activate the installation. If you hang up within 30 seconds, you do not incurr a cost.If you wait for the prompt and leave a message, your standard charges will apply. Call now, from anywhere!

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BEAP 2007, September 14 – October 6
Spectrum Project Space, 221 Beaufort St, Northbridge WA

::web activity coming soon::

Principle artist – Cat Hope
Contributing artists:
Dr Malcolm Riddoch – web wrangler
Rob Muir – book curator.

DESCRIPTION
This installation has two components, a bookshelf full of carefully prepared talking books, and a web site full of instant, spontaneous and unedited talking books.
The installation is ‘activated’ by people calling one of 4 mobile phone numbers. The call activates the installation at the bookshelf. They may leave a message, which will activate the installation at metaphonica.com, which in turn adds to the bookshelf as it is played back into the installation by way of an RSS feed.
Four of the books on the shelf contain mobile phones, that when called play ‘ring tones’ made from readings of the parts of the books that were cut out to accommodate them (book readings). Another two books contain speakers that play back messages left on message bank (posts). There are 6 playing books on the shelf, amongst another 10-15 books.
RATIONALE
In this installation books are cannibalised by digital technologies - their contents are cut out and read aloud on call - sometimes they reproduce carefully prepared works, other times they reproduce the comments of anyone and everyone, without editing. One sound is carefully manicured by the artist, the other on the fly by the contributor.
Many books are now available on line, instantly retrievable for those who have the equipment to do so. Information is published to podcast by anyone and instantly downloaded - no editing or writing ability required, a different scenario to the way books are prepared.  Are web sites, with their multi media delivery, the new books, the new information repositories we once considered libraries to be? This installation compares books and digital delivery of information, looking to the chance composition techniques of John Cage and and the cut ups of William Burroughs.

go to http://moblog.co.uk/blog/metaphonica  to see posts coming direct from metaphonica artists to the mobile phone blog page.

A test of anarchy media flv player

PhoneBook : didactic text

CALL THESE NUMBER TO  CONTRIBUTE TO THE INSTALLATION
The call is free:

+4915118900484
+4915111127081

This installation consists of a 4 part composition than is interrupted and added to by people ‘calling in’ to it with their own telephones, using the numbers above. Mobile phones are fitted into certain books, and play readings of excerpts of the text that has been removed to make room for them. Here the mobile phones use their voice recording and playback facility without connecting to any ‘network’, other than the one they create by playing back collectively.
The ‘phoned in’ contributions feature interviews with William Burroughs, master of the cut up technique in literature, and John Cage talking to Morton Feldman; masters of things aleatoric when applied to music and sound works. These interviews are available from internet archives on a creative commons license.
The work contemplates the state of spoken word delivery through audio books, podcasts and telephones. Will they replace written formats? Are we a new generation of listeners?
Most of the books are ‘found, and many come from travellers who have left them behind before moving to their next destination, and represent languages that have made part of the artists’ experience when she lived in Berlin from 1990 to 1992.

http://www.metaphonica.com

more information

Readings from the books are from:
Fallaci, Oriana (1974) Intervista con la storia, 4th ed., Rizzoli, Milano
Schillmann, Heinz Ed. (1981) Unvergessene Balladen, F.Englisch Verlag, Weisbaden
Beard, Charles a. Ed (1928) Whither Mankind – a panorama of modern civilzation, 1st ed, Longmans, Green and co. London
Uhlmann, Irene and Hartmann, Ortrun Ed.(1982) Kleine Enzyklopadie Die Frau VEB Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig

And the phones that ‘interupt” are in these books:
 Lindemannn, Dr Hermann (1911) A Pocket Dictionary of the English and German Languages , 13th ed., Langenscheidtsche Verlagsbuchhandlug, Berlin-Schoenberg
Clark, Mary Higgins (1980) The Cradle Will Fall, Fontana, London

The idea that started the project PhoneBook was the search for my own books, lost in Berlin over 15 years ago.
The area where the studio is located is full of 2nd hand book shops. Many of them have books that travellers have left or traded, in many different languages. Perfect for Transit Lounge. They often leave books out front ‘kostenlos’.
So now i have decided to chose a mixture of books in languages that reflect the nationalities of people with whom i shared my time in Berlin. Italian, German, English and American.

                                                                                                                                                               cut out’s from the books so far 

the opening event for phonebook is on the 18th February, from 8 - 10pm GMT+1 (between 3am - 5am  19th Febraury Perth time)
To be part of the installation by interuppting and adding to it,  you can call either of theses number, its free:
+4915111127081 - Burroughs
+4915118900484 - Cage/Feldman

Your call will interupt the book readings with either William Burroughs, king of cut up culture; or an interview between John Cage and Morton Feldman - masters of things aleatoric.

Both these excepts have been accessed from audio databases and podcasts holding creative commons licenses.