Artists: Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Angie Atmadjaja, Kader Attia, Nina Beier & Marie Lund, Daniela Brahm & Les Schliesser, Peter Cusack, Clare Gasson, Marco Godinho, Brandon Labelle, Andra McCartney, John Menick, Angel Nevarez & Valerie Tevere, Udo Noll, Emeka Ogboh, Yoko Ono, Susan Schuppli, Christine Sullivan & Rob Flint, Christine Sun Kim, John Wynne
Curators: Berit Fischer, Kevin Muhlen
Exhibition: 17 May – 7 September 2014.
Casino Luxembourg Forum d’Art Contemporain, Luxembourg
In the Old English word hlysnan, “to listen”, the focus is on the notions ofattentionand intent. Similarly the emphasis in the project Hlysnan: The Notion and Politics of Listeninglies on the active act not merely of hearing – usually referring to automatic or passive sound perception– but rather specifically on listening; hearing with intent.
Listening requires intensified concentration and attentiveness towards what one is listening to; it is linked to the notion of desire, anticipation and understanding, a striving for a possible meaning. Hlysnan: The Notion and Politics of Listeningunderstands listening as agency, as gesture, as attitude and as taking a position.
The exhibition attempts to reconcile audio practices with contemporary social and political realities and invites the visitor to actively experience, listen and engage with the sense of hearing to the various complex interplays. Part of the investigations is for example the vocal gesture in specific situations like political speeches, legal and juridical contexts, or recording techniques and their impact in regard to documentation, writing and (re)creating history, and in the shaping of our culture and reality. The soundscapes and sonorous textures emanating from specific works presented in the exhibition may provoke immediate physical reactions, whereas other audible stimulus may address and question socio-political issues.
The 21st century, as much as contemporary exhibition making, is undeniably marked as an era of imagery and viewing. Despite many current exhibitions around the subject of sound in which the focus often lies on the visualisation of sound waves or the technicalities and materiality involved around it, Hlysnan: The Notion and Politics of Listening departs from the representation and visual rendering of acoustic space and submits the auditory perception for consideration. Rather than displaying works destined for the eyes, the emphasis lies on the immaterial, the non-consumerist and the non-spectacle, in order to achieve a heightened concentration on the targeted sense.
The accompanying Hlysnan: The Notion and Politics of Listening publication is considered an extending and supplementing format to the exhibition. Not only the concepts materialised in the exhibition are developed and contextualised further, but with complementing contributions by additional artists, the project offers a comprehensive overview on the various questions around the notion and politics of listening.
Exhibition is realised with the support of: L‘Institut Français du Luxembourg
PUBLICATION
[hlysnan] The Notion and Politics of Listening
The accompanying publication is considered an extending and supplementing format to the exhibition. Not only the concepts materialised in the exhibition are developed and contextualised further, but with complementing contributions by additional artists, the publication offers a comprehensive overview on the various questions around the notion and politics of listening.
Edited by Berit Fischer
Artists contributions by: Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Angie Atmadjaja, Kader Attia, Nina Beier & Marie Lund, Daniela Brahm & Les Schliesser, Peter Cusack, Clare Gasson, Marco Godinho, Brandon Labelle, Andra McCartney, John Menick, Angel Nevarez & Valerie Tevere, Udo Noll, Emeka Ogboh, Yoko Ono, Susan Schuppli, Christine Sullivan & Rob Flint, Christine Sun Kim, John Wynne
With a foreword by Kevin Muhlen and a text by Berit Fischer.
In English language. In collaboration with Casino Luxembourg – Forum d‘art contemporain, 2014. 152 p., col. ill; 185 x 245 mm, hard cover
ISBN 978-99959-30-23-3
PERFORMANCES, TALKS AND WORKSHOPS
Christine Sullivan & Rob Flint [EN]: Conversation Piece
[performance] Wednesday 21 May 2014 | 7 p.m.Peter Cusack [EN]: Sounds from Dangerous Places: Sonic Journalism [artist talk] Thursday 19 June 2014 | 6.30 p.m.
Udo Noll [DE + EN]: FM Walks – Künstlerische Radioproduktion im öffentlichen Raum
[workshop] Saturday 5 & Sunday 6 July 2014 | 3 p.m. – 5 p.m.Clare Gasson [EN]
“October 2013 – obsidian flow” piece retitled February 2014″, 2014 [performance]
A series of one-to-one readings by artist Clare Gasson. Please book in advance to take part in one of the readings (in English; lasting no longer then 10 minutes): visites@casino-luxembourg.lu. The readings are organised on specific dates (every 15 minutes).
