fono balono

(for balloon radios and an amplified narrator)

written by you nakai

premiered at the exhibition “weather and lifetime”,

asahi art square, tokyo

3 July 2010

system A: seven or more groups of 50 to 60 helium balloons (assorted colors), each carrying a portable radio. the size and the material of the balloons is calculated so that their ‘life-time’ would correspond to the length of the exhibition. the number of groups is calculated according to the size of the exhibition space. the exact number of balloons is calculated according to the weight of each radio. the balloons are released right before the start of the exhibition, and should land near its closing time. the balloon groups are themselves divided into two or three large groups. all radios belonging to the same large group is set to the same frequency. the exact number of large group is calculated from the size of the exhibition space. a wireless microphone is attached to one of the balloons of the second (and subsequent) large group(s).

tokyo,  23 june - 3 july 2010

to be performed at a group exhibition

system B: one narrator carrying a wireless microphone. during the exhibition he/she talks to as many audiences as possible. the narrator improvises, a) descriptions of ‘collaboration pieces’ which verbally connects two or more otherwise non-related pieces in the group exhibition, and/or, b) description of a ‘ghost piece’* which verbally constructs an otherwise non-existent piece within the group exhibition. descriptions should preferably contradict each other, and vary every time.

narrator/narration

wireless microphone transmitter

receiver

mixer

delay system: 10, 30, 90 mins

(how many corresponds to the number of large balloon groups)

radio transmitters

(how many and which frequency correspond to the number and frequency of large balloon groups)

balloon radios

balloon radio

(from second and subsequent large groups)

               

wireless microphone transmitter

receiver

when more than half of the balloon groups touch ground, all delay lengths are synchronized

* “there is a piece performed inside the elevator: a blindfolded dancer is dancing, and the audiences, deprived of the usual safe distance that enables one to appreciate dance, are forced instead to move, dodging the dancer. because all public activities inside the elevator are prohibited for security reasons, this is a guerrilla performance. the piece continues outside of the elevator, where the dancer constantly tries to maintain a prescribed distance from the audiences. as a result, the dancer is always out of sight. in other words: inside the elevator the audiences are forced to run away from the piece; outside, the piece conversely runs away from the audience. in either case, movement is created by disrupting the usually presupposed, ‘adequate’ distance for appreciating an art piece.”

coupling diagram of systems A and B