\nfor Slope\u2019, also known as \u2018The Mutes\u2019. This is a durational musical performance
\nfor a group of amateur singers lacking a \u2018musical ear\u2019. Therefore, they cannot
\nsing in tune.<\/span><\/p>\n
Knowing and not knowing are similar starting points for me. This work is about This gradually brought me to \u2018The Mutes\u2019, which completely overturns this precision I developed this work over several years, with special period of attention afforded by Every piece teaches me something. Some especially remind me of the things I want For me the artwork is always something that sits within a specific architecture and In connection with ACT\u2019s topic of social transition and broadening perspectives, Sculptural objects\u2014ramps, shoes, canes, benches\u2014surround the performers I long had the idea of working with non-musical performers, and during that time, The group of performers recite the text from a first-person perspective, However, the emphasis is less on the result, but rather on discovery. The specificity \u2018Study for Slope\/The Mutes\u2019 as staged in Paris took place over one month, exhibited \u2018Study for Slope\/The Mutes\u2019 at Lafayette Anticipations, Paris, 2022 \u201cACT: Art. Climate. Transition\u201d<\/a>\u00a0is co-financed by the EU\u2019s programme \u201cCreative Europe\u201d. ACT is a European cooperation project on ecology, climate change and social transition. In an era of climate breakdown, mass extinction and growing inequalities we join our forces in a project on hope: connecting broad perspectives with specific, localised possibilities, ones that invite or demand that we act. ACT is a project initiated by 10 cultural operators from 10 European countries, working in the field of performing and visual arts. More about the project read at\u00a0artclimatetransition.eu<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For the Art, Climate, Transition residency, I (Lina Lapelyte) continued development on \u2018Study
\nlosing control. Perhaps calling the performers \u2018singers\u2019 is incorrect. Before this
\nperformance, they were never allowed to sing, not being considered good enough
\nto correctly repeat a given tone or articulate a rhythm within a group. I\u2019m trained as
\na classical violinist, tonality was always essential. When I started making my own
\nperformances, working with singers and performers whom I asked to sing, pitch
\nremained very important\u2014how do I make the group sound in tune, and how does
\nthis tuning become another layer of the conceptual framework, something that
\nbrings the emotion in, the harmony, and the vibrations the harmony creates?
\nHowever, I realized that I was losing the opportunity to collaborate with people
\nwho were not able to repeat specific harmonies, or lack a trained ear.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nin tuning. I challenged myself to work with people who don\u2019t have the training and
\nability to connect through tuning. I\u2019m interested in other kinds of relations, such
\nas the fragility of silenced voices. The core idea in \u2018The Mutes\u2019 is to challenge the
\nmusical tradition that is based on tonality and take individual hearing as a starting
\npoint. This is a metaphor for wider questions, such as how do we fit in if we cannot
\nharmonise with the rest of society? What is there that is left, how can these voices
\nstill be heard?<\/p>\n
\nsupport from the ACT residency. It started during the pandemic\u2014I originally planned
\nto stage it at the Lilith Performance Studio<\/a> in Malm\u00f6, then it grew into a sound
\ninstallation which I presented at Tai Kwun Contemporary<\/a> in Hong Kong, and finally
\nas a live piece with local performers at Lafayette Anticipations<\/a> in Paris.<\/p>\n
\nto unlearn. My collaborative opera works \u2018Have a Good Day!\u2019<\/a> and \u2018Sun and Sea\u2019<\/a>
\nwith Rugil\u0117 Barzd\u017eiukait\u0117 and Vaiva Grainyt\u0117, and solo projects like \u2018Hunky Bluff\u2019<\/a>
\nand \u2018Candy Shop\u2019<\/a> are unified by music and singing though each one focuses on
\ndifferent topics. My solo works are more conceptual, and the operas are much more
\nfocused on verbal narratives.<\/p>\n
\ncontext. Making \u2018Study for Slope\/The Mutes\u2019 with ACT\u2019s support and the exhibition
\nvenue in Paris was incredible, working with institutions that understand the artist
\nas a space-shifter. In the exhibition, the work both created its own environment
\nand also spread and integrated into the existing one.<\/p>\n
\n\u2018Study for Slope\u2019 aims to open people up, while also opening spaces, inviting
\nthe natural light in. Combined with the performers\u2019 voices, the nettle garden is
\nan ever-changing, fragile organism, drawing attention to the delicate interaction
\nof people with their natural surroundings. Nettles are considered a sturdy,
\ntough plant, but they still require light and care.<\/p>\n
\nand accompany the narrative. They are integral parts of the performance,
\nessential tools to deliver it.<\/p>\n
\ncompletely by chance, I encountered Sean Ashton\u2019s novel \u2018Living in a Land\u2019<\/a>.
\nThe book is a fictional memoir written in sentences composed of statements
\nas negatives. It depicts activities, habits, and thoughts conveying a sense
\nof belonging\u2014to a certain time, a certain age and gender, a class, a culture\u2014
\nand call upon our own experiences. It fit perfectly with the things I wanted to talk
\nabout\u2014the experience of not fitting in or the pressure to behave in a particular way.
\n\u2018Living in a Land\u2019 talks about the things that we have all probably felt, done,
\nthought about, or experienced in our lives.<\/p>\n
\nappropriating the everyday activities and thoughts that Sean describes in the novel.
\nThat text takes on different meanings when sung by a younger or older performer,
\nor perceived by someone younger or older. Some of my previous works,
\nlike \u2018Ladies\u2019<\/a> or \u2018Play for the Parallels\u2019, also deal with conversations between
\ndifferent generations, different voices, and shared perspectives. I am interested
\nin how individual narratives turn into collective voices. Singing in a group can be
\nan instrumental tool to deliver that message. Sean\u2019s novel has a lot of irony and it is
\nalso very English, which creates some fruitful tension outside Anglophone contexts.
\nWorking with performers lacking a traditional \u2018musical ear\u2019 is a process of learning,
\ndelving into the unknown, and developing a new language. In this context
\nmy musical knowledge and training almost has no value, I myself feel
\nout of tune and have to think of a new methodology.<\/p>\n
\nof music-making and that of a nettle\u2014it might not feel very pleasant, but it reminds
\nus of our own bodily presence. Collaboration is also very important to me\u2014some
\nof my works are purely collaborative. I share the authorship with other artists and
\nin some other works I take more of a lead. When I think of performers, they never
\ncome as a blank page, they bring their own presence, their own thoughts, and that
\nmakes the work happen. I often try to relinquish some of my control and allow the
\ncircumstances to influence and change the work.<\/p>\n
\nas a loop throughout each day the gallery was open.
\nDurational performance work gives more freedom to the audience\u2014 the audience
\ncontrols the outcome. \u2018Sun & Sea\u2019 at the Venice Biennale also ran in a loop,
\nbut it was originally done as a one-hour event, therefore the narrative was
\nquite tightly constructed.
\nWith \u2018Study for Slope\u2019, I thought of how space and time stretch throughout the day,
\nhow the light or the intensity of the audience changes. The month of repetition
\nmight change how the performers relate to and deliver the material, however it is
\nnot trying to make them better singers. Hopefully, it will make us better listeners.<\/p>\n
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\nphotos Marc Domage<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/theatre.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ACT_logo_basic_black_CMYK-1.jpg\"){kind=logo}
\u00a0\u00a0![\"\"](\"http:\/\/theatre.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/eu_flag_creative_europe_co_funded_pos_rgb_right-copia-300x75.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nfor Slope\u2019, also known as \u2018The Mutes\u2019. This is a durational musical performance
\nfor a group of amateur singers lacking a \u2018musical ear\u2019. Therefore, they cannot
\nsing in tune.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5354,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[103,104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-act","category-archived"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theatre.kondrats.dev\/lv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theatre.kondrats.dev\/lv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theatre.kondrats.dev\/lv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theatre.kondrats.dev\/lv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theatre.kondrats.dev\/lv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5353"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theatre.kondrats.dev\/lv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5353\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theatre.kondrats.dev\/lv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theatre.kondrats.dev\/lv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theatre.kondrats.dev\/lv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theatre.kondrats.dev\/lv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}