Wolfgang Spahn

a universal audiovisual performance by Antti Pussinen and Wolfgang Spahn, 2018

Maailmankaikkeus (universe, all that is part of the world in Finnish) is an audiovisual performance from media artists Antti Pussinen and Wolfgang Spahn. It is an artistic approach to un-mapping the vastness, beauty and diversity of the universe.

The performance merges audio and visuals into synchronous experience using technologies in a way they were not meant to be used. It seeks to unmap the norms in audio visual performance: the square form of the video projector is broken with lenses, Sound signals are used directly to draw the visuals, video signals are used to make the sounds. The difference between an audio and video signal is only the frequency range that they are usually used in.

Chaotic noises and sounds created in the magnetic fields in servo and stepper motors are a byproduct of creating the visuals, but also an important part of the sound fabric, and in contrast with the drony sounds of analog oscillators and video transferred into sound.

The title and theme of the performance comes from the star patterns seen in the video image. These are dead pixels in the projectors. The artists wanted to use this as starting point for the esthetics and theme of the work, instead of trying to fight back when the devices starts to show their age.

Using self made instruments and devices is a conscious choice that the artists have made. On one hand it frees them from structures and expenses that come from using commercial hardware and software. On the other hand it frees the artist to only have what they need in their instruments, making creative processes and performing more intuitive. It also makes collaborations like this performance more interesting, since little quirks and glitches in the machines often work together in unplanned manner. That then directs the artists to follow the process instead of a prebuilt map with targets that need to be reached.