Lukatoyboy - Stops - Sound Development City

Sound Development City
Artist Expedition 2015
Belgrade – Athens
9 – 27 September
Documentation
Lukatoyboy
Stops — From A to B and In-Between
About Sound Development City
Sound Development City is a threeweek artist expedition that explores
two European cities every year. The
expedition crew consists of a dozen
artists coming from different geographical, cultural and artistic backgrounds. They are selected through an
open call for projects that is geared towards artists who distinguish themselves through a process-oriented approach to their work, their curiosity
and an explorative mindset.
Sound Development City is a
place for artistic research and concepts
which benefit from being on the road
and probe urban environments as sites
of both playfulness and social in­
volvement. Here, working theses can
be examined, new project ideas or
forms of expression can be tried out
and bold visions can be put into practice. The expedition offers freedom of
choice and action, without the pressure of measurable results — a strong
focus is placed on process and on daring ideas.
While the expedition’s target
cities serve as resonating urban space,
as work material, sources of inspiration
and playgrounds for public presentations, the expedition group creates a
fertile soil for exchange, reflexion and
cooperation. Sound Development City
is also an inward journey to personal
thought and work patterns, which are
challenged and maybe even realigned
through the experience of the unknown
and the unpredictable.
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Sound Development City is a
project by Sound Development, a noncommercial, independent and privately funded cultural initiative based in
Zurich, Switzerland. The expedition
format was developed in collaboration
with Heller Enterprises, an agency for
cultural projects. Sound Development
City is financed by Sound Development and put into practice by Heller
Enterprises.
Artist Expedition 2015
On 9 September, 2015, a group of nineteen individuals — thirteen artists
from eleven countries, five team members and one expedition writer —
set off on the fourth artist expedition
to Belgrade and Athens. The artists
were selected by an international jury
consisting of Esther Eppstein (Message Salon, Zurich), Milica Pekić
(G12HUB, Belgrade), Poka-Yio (Athens Biennale, Athens), Andreas Finke
(Sound Devel­opment, Zurich) and
Martin Heller (Heller Enterprises,
Zurich) out of a total of 502 applicants
from 63 countries. The evaluation was
based on artistic quality and original­
ity, feasibility of realisation as well as
the research-based approach of the
project proposals.
The thirteen artists formed a heterogeneous group, coming from such
diverse disciplines as experimental filmmaking, performing arts, literature,
sound art and music. During Sound
Development City, they worked on
eleven projects that followed a wide
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range of subjects and narrative lines.
Seven days were spent in Belgrade,
and seven in Athens. The journey inbetween, which the artists undertook
individually on the land route, was
an integral part of the expedition; it
served as a shift in the working process
and offered time for reflection and further research.
In Belgrade, the expedition set
up its headquarters at the new media
gallery G12HUB, in Athens at the cultural centre Synergy-o. These venues
served as the artists’ entry points to the
cities — as workspaces but also as pla­
ces for presentations and workshops. In
both cities, the expedition group was
supported by dedicated local teams
that provided access to the native art
scene, collaborators, hidden corners
and vibrant spots. Through them, the
group was welcomed with open arms
and had access to the cities’ rough edges and abysses, sweet spots and beauty.
Sound Development City 2015
was strongly influenced by the realities
found in Belgrade and Athens. Both
cities were chosen based on gut instinct
and hearsay about their thriving art
scenes — and out of an interest for unknown territories. While the impact of
Greece’s economic crisis had been tangible for a while, it wasn’t foreseeable
at the time the cities were selected that
Belgrade would transform itself into a
holding area for refugees and that the
expedition would find itself travelling
against an enormous and sustained
stream of displaced individuals.
The situations and realities on
the ground put the artists’ concepts to
the test, offered room for change and
adjustment and provided thoughtprovoking impulses. There were several public events in both cities — performances, film screenings, workshops
and concerts — some spontaneous,
some planned and announced. These
moments were crucial, as they offered
dialogue and reflection in a real-life
setting. The expedition ended with a
public “Expedition Discoveries” tour
in the streets of Athens, during which
the thirteen artists presented fragments,
in-betweens and some conclusions.
Documentation
To document these — sometimes fleet­
ing — moments, thoughts and artistic
experiments, the Sound Development
City website served as a multi-voiced
logbook by channelling content from
various authors and sources: texts,
sketches, snippets, photos, sound pie­
ces, radio interviews and videos added
up to become a collective expedition
diary.
The artists documented their
work, experiences and reflections, and
offered insight into ongoing processes.
Author Uwe Lützen accompanied the group as an expedition writer.
His mission was to watch and listen, to
travel with the group and to document
the expedition. He published notes,
studies, articles and personal observations that might create context or a
shift in perspective.
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The Sound Development City
team created a daily journal in text and
images and produced radio interviews
with the artists that were broadcast on
the expedition’s online 24/7 web radio,
the “Gap Station”.
The content found in the follow­
ing pages comes mostly from these
sources, while certain reflections were
added after the fact.
Participants & Projects
Narda Alvarado [BO]
XXIst Century Messenger —
The Artist-Thinker as a Letter Carrier
Ryan Ferko [CA]
Patris
Rowan de Freitas [UK]
Discarded — A Map of Discontent
Friedrich Greiling & Sven Ulber [DE]
A to Be — Transport /Art for Free
Marcin Knyziak [PL]
Waiting for Something to Happen …
Lukatoyboy [RS]
Stops — From A to B and In-Between
Joni Murphy [US]
The Invisible Second Hand
Klara Ravat [ES]
smellSCAPES
Roberto Santaguida [CA]
Oekistics
Vreni Spieser [CH]
Terra Incognita
Veli & Amos [SI & CH]
Let’s Save the Whales International
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Lukatoyboy
Stops — From A to B and In-Between
“Stops” is a participatory three-part
suite that explores methods of sound,
music and movement improvisation
in real-time ride-sharing situations.
The project is based on interactions
between people, means of transport,
routes, destinations and non-places,
while making use of limitation,
chance, exchange and risk.
The first part takes place in Belgrade, where a van-as-a-venue will
be offering free rides to anyone willing to participate in the project by
sharing stories or playing music.
The second part is a multiday
composition for an unaccompanied
traveller, which is based on prewritten, outsourced behavioural codes
that make the traveller use public
transport in predefined ways while
continuing to collect personal and
sound narratives.
The third phase begins when the
final destination is reached: the traveller becomes an inverted busker
conquering Athens’ train stations
and public places, performing on
the go and broadcasting sounds and
stories from another city and from
the journey in-between.
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Svetlana
I am so eager to meet you.
Luka
Okay.
Let me just put my glasses on.
We need some light, just a second. I’ve only got this colour-changing one …
No problem at all, at least it’s bright.
My name is Svetlana Petrović, I was born in 1955,
graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy; I am a member of two writers’ associations in Belgrade. I’ve been
writing since I was a little girl. I published some of my
work with the associations, mostly as a co-author.
I would like to read you some of my work, a few
poems and short stories. Are you interested?
Of course. You can put your seatbelt on.
The first poem is called “The Geranium”.
Excerpt taxi ride with Svetlana Petrović
Emilija
How should I start?
Luka
As you wish …
Okay, I am going to read you some of my dreams. I will
try to find the ones I’ve had on the exact same dates
but years back. So, I’ll pick one from my new Diary of
Dreams. The date is May 13th, 2014 … There are two
dreams I had that night.
Excerpt taxi ride with Emilija Radojičić
Emilija
Which day is today?
Luka
It’s September 14th.
Okay, here’s September 11th, 2012, in Belgrade. I always
write down the location … “I am standing by the lake
with my dad; the nature is breathtaking, the sun is
shi­ning. We are standing on some kind of an elevated
plateau, daddy is fishing, and there is a willow next to
us with branches touching the surface of the water. It
reminds me of my childhood. There are many fish in the
lake, mostly catfish, and I am suggesting to my dad where
to sweep the hook.”
Excerpt taxi ride with Emilija Radojičić
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I am interested in the outcomes of the very particular social situations I will
either offer or be directed to.
The conversations are something I hope I will use more in my work, so
I am very curious about those.
I believe in experiencing in real time, since
there is only one real time.
Excerpt “Gap Station” interview
Excerpt artist Q&A
Luka
Which sounds of Belgrade do you love most?
IvanaI have no idea. I like to listen to the traffic jam sounds
while the town awakens. I like the sound of streetcars in
the morning and the sound of Monday mornings when
the trash service workers are cleaning the streets. They
somehow introduce the new working week. Those are the
sounds that wake me up, and I don’t find them annoying.
Those are programmed sound sequences: public transport, trash
service workers, postal workers, etc.
And street washing units. When I was little, we were
living in Novi Beograd, and we all knew each other in
the neighbourhood. We used to play in a local playground.
Around lunchtime, the mothers would lean out the
windows and call for their children: “Come home, time
for lunch!” It was kind of a pleasant noise.
[…]
My block is in an apartment building neighbourhood,
but there is only one house between those buildings. There
lives a married couple, a couple of drunks. When they get
drunk, they begin to sing, but they sing the same song on
repeat and they break glasses and bottles against the wall
of our building.
When does that happen?
Usually at dusk. There is one other building on the block,
it’s abandoned, and around it is a big swamp with frogs
in it. So, the sounds of Belgrade — frogs and occasional
owls. Pretty exotic, right?
Earlier today in my amplified van,
somewhere in Belgrade @jannemecek
& длт duo live debut
Posted 12.9.2015
Excerpt taxi ride with Ivana Bogićević
Interview with the Taxi Driver
Bojana
How would you define the passengers? What did they all have
in common?
BoškoThey were all kind of “arty”, of free spirit, each passengers was special. They were artists, people who make
a difference, people who create work which is far from
being traditional, people who are out of the ordinary.
What is your understanding of Luka’s project? How do you
regard it? Do you think it can be socially pertinent?
It’s important because it is new, something we’ve never
had before in Belgrade. The entire project ended up on
TV, broadcast by several local TV stations, I think —
Pink TV, Happy and RTS. The TV crews and the jour-
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nalists were interested, and so were the people watching
it, because it’s something fresh and unconventional, an
avant-garde thing. Well, for me it was quite an experience; it was the first time I’d heard that experimental
genre of music.
Was there a moment when you wanted to participate as a musician, maybe, given that you were surrounded by experimental music and sound all the time?
I didn’t really have the time to ask Luka about his music,
and I still have no idea what that experimental music
actually is and how it is created or implemented. However, I was inspired, that’s for sure.
as possible, different types of grapes, feta cheese and olives.” Then
there is “Change your shoelaces every day before you start walking.” Then there is “Go exactly in the middle of Belgrade and
Athens, stand there and send ten mental postcards.”
Okay, that one is more my style ...
There’s more, I don’t know all of them by heart, there are some really complicated ones, like compose, structure, go there and record for a few minutes, continue recording, go there, and then play
it for some other person … It’s all written down.
You’re a lucky guy. I wish I could do this as my job.
Excerpt taxi ride with Emily Radosavljević
Excerpt of an interview between Bojana Knežević and Boško Medić, a professional cab driver from Belgrade,
who was in charge of Luka’s Taxi
LukaI go from Belgrade to Athens and I cannot fly, that’s the only
thing, but you can tell me what to do during those days, anywhere
between Belgrade and Athens ...
EmilyMe?
Anyone. It’s public, this call; it’s on Facebook.
Ah ... Is there anybody suggesting things?
Yeah, I have ...
What are the suggestions? I would love to propose
something.
Like, one of the suggestions: “Never eat alone.”
Okay ...
Then, the most recent one is also food-related, like, “Try, as much
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Task Given by Ranko Vukčević
Accessories A Walkman or a tape recorder and one audio cassette (I know
you’ve got both)
Rules
On each day of your journey at exactly 11:33 a.m. you press REC
on your Walkman or tape recorder, no matter the situation you’re in at that
moment. Your recording should last no more than thirty seconds and you proceed the following day, right where you stopped your recording of the previous
day. If you find yourself in the middle of a conversation, you are not allowed to
inform the participants that the recording process is going to take place. You
can even hide your recorder if that would be more convenient for you. You must
stay still while recording (so, no walking around, no riding a bicycle or any
other movement; if you’re on a train or a bus, you must remain seated).
On your last day, you have to find a stranger or someone you just
met that very day and make them listen to your three-minute recording, but
you are not allowed to reveal the details about the project. You can talk about
your journey and your ambitions, but you must never mention the secret
recording. After making them listen to the entire thing, you can explain what
the task was all about.
Remember, you can listen to your recording only after the other
person went through it.
Not so complicated, right?
R.
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Completed tasks, tasks in progress,
upcoming tasks and I failed today.
Ate kefir alone at 5 a.m., and
yoghurt and granola some hours ago
due to monument(al) emptiness.
Sorry, Derek Holzer — I will try
to do better.
The final “in-between” update, which
I didn’t manage to upload while still
in-between.
Additional text, original rules
and other media residue will follow.
Hello Athens, it’s been twentyseven years minus one month since
I’ve been with / in you.
Here I sent one of the “mental postcards”, as instructed by Ana Labudović.
Some of the “in-between” stamps
Offline struggles
Offline struggles
There was a great espresso for 35 cents
at an unexpected in-between break Tirana palm trees
during the final in-between trip from
Tirana to Athens.
An attempt in “exactly thirty seconds”
(a part of the task given by Ranko
Vukčević)
The first in-between solitude, while
visiting the monument in Kruševo, as
a task given by Emily Radosavljević
Some tasks I had to do today.
Some will be repeated, and there
is more in the next days.
For Emily
Posted 17.9.2015
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Daily shoelace exchange, as ordered
by Ivana Vukšić
Posted 18.9.2015
Between Ulcinj and Skadar
Attempt in “exactly thirty seconds”
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One of the tasks was to travel on this
particular bus route.
Every day I had to start by switching
my shoelaces from left to right and
from right to left.
Posted 20.9.2015
I would say that my main focus during the
expedition relates to the question
of authorship, while employing both chance
and rules in a defined structure.
It is not a solo work, nor is it a usual
collaboration, although it has some
aspects of collaborative forms related to the
free improvisation music scene and
textual instructions related to the abstract
music composition.
In a way, I could also say the actual
focus, if I had to choose one word, is risk.
My control of the outcome
is very limited (until it reaches the stage at
which everything is already done,
recorded, documented and I have to make
editing decisions), and I am very much
attracted to this uncertainty.
Excerpt artist Q&A
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The ecstasy of pressures and deadline
desires
Posted 21.9.2015
Posted 25.9.2015
Athens, you commuting, be intimate
with me today.
Now heading towards the airport and then following M2.
Many locals turn their heads
away, and my first audience consisted of a woman from Durban, South
Africa.
Hi fellow passenger,
You can take these headphones and
I will perform for you only.
There will be sounds.
When you take the headphones
off, our connection will end.
Feel free to take photos and record videos.
If you post something, please
use #sdc2015.
Thank you for being with me.
Luka
More intimate audience. One of the
girls is a Merzbow fan. The other was
probably concerned by my inability
to stay awake and the unexpected
body movements from the seat across.
Posted 25.9.2015
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More intimacy with girls: “Proposed
Exclusion”, installation and performance at ATH airport.
Posted 25.9.2015
Presentation during the “Expedition
Discoveries” tour in Athens, 26.9.2015:
Failing to follow Derek Holzer’s
instruction to “never eat alone” and
fulfilling the last part of the task given
by Ranko Vukčević.
Final Sound Development City
events in Athens #sdc2015.
Sunday, 27.9.2015, 19:00
Deep Listening
Parking at Klafthmonos Square,
Athens
Sunday, 27.9.2015, 23:00
Private Party
Room 203, Evripides Hotel,
Athens
Monday, 28.9.2015, 10:00
Ambient Set
Rooftop, Evripides Hotel,
Athens
#sdc2015 — the last photos.
Today I left the bubble of the Sound
Development City 2015 expedition.
I met so many great people, both
artists and organisers, and there is a
lot more to come.
Posted 28.9.2015
Monday, 28.9.2015, 15:10
The Flying Connection
Flight A3878,
Sky
Athens, see you again in March 2016!
Posted 27.9.2015
... and now I only dream in #sdc2015.
Posted 4.10.2015
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Sound Development
Sound Development City is one of
Sound Development’s major projects.
Zurich based Sound Development wants to give selected international artists a platform and the opportunity to realise trans-disciplinary projects.
Personal encounters and collaborative
work play a key role in developing new
ideas — away from academic or institutional settings. The artist expedition format offers exactly the space and
time to do research and to develop a
project — without necessarily targeting a final product.
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Sound Development’s general objective is to inspire and support artists
through practical experience, to provide knowledge and contacts as well as
to connect people and artists. The promotional efforts are based on different
projects, such as Music Apartment or
LofiDogma, realised as in-house and
co-productions.
Also, Sound Development is interested in alternative forms of art and
cultural promotion.
The combination of non-commercial orientation and private funding allows the freedom and flexibility
needed for an uncompromising implementation, independent from formal
concepts and with an open mind for
new methods and strategies.
Sound Development is an independent cultural initiative.
It was founded by Nia Schmidheiny in 2002. She thus extends the
definition of how her family has been
supporting the arts for generations.
� www.sound-development.com
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Artist Biographies
Lukatoyboy
*1981, RS
Luka Ivanović aka Lukatoyboy is a
sound artist and a musician, born in
Belgrade and currently based in Berlin. Focused on the relation between
chance and structure, he creates parti­
cipatory works with suggested rules
that question such topics as the exclusivity and authority of the artist.
As a musician, Luka is active in
the electro-acoustic improvisation
scene but also plays techno on a Game
Boy. His current focus is on participatory performances dealing with networks, sound and narrative, using
walkie-talkies and site-specific topics.
He runs Blind Tapes, a participatory
record label dedicated to chance, and
co-runs the MultiMadeira residency.
� www.flavors.me/lukatoyboy
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Imprint
Sound Development City
Idea & Concept
Sound Development
Heller Enterprises
Realisation
Heller Enterprises
Responsible: Martin Heller
Sound Development City 2015
Participants & Projects
Narda Alvarado [BO]
XXIst Century Messenger —
The Artist-Thinker as a Letter Carrier
Ryan Ferko [CA]
Patris
Rowan de Freitas [UK]
Discarded — A Map of Discontent
Friedrich Greiling & Sven Ulber [DE]
A to Be — Transport /Art for Free
Marcin Knyziak [PL]
Waiting for Something to Happen …
Lukatoyboy [RS]
Stops — From A to B and In-Between
Joni Murphy [US]
The Invisible Second Hand
Klara Ravat [ES]
smellSCAPES
Roberto Santaguida [CA]
Oekistics
Vreni Spieser [CH]
Terra Incognita
Veli & Amos [SI & CH]
Let’s Save the Whales International
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Jury
Esther Eppstein
Message Salon, Zurich
Andreas Finke
Sound Development, Zurich
Martin Heller
Heller Enterprises, Zurich
Milica Pekić
G12HUB, Belgrade
Poka-Yio
Athens Biennale, Athens
Expedition Writer
Uwe Lützen
Parking Klafthmonos
Romantso
Synergy-o
Project Management
Duscha Kistler
Project Director & Producer
Andalus
Project Director
Nicholas Schärer
Communications
Svetlana Marchenko
Intern
Jorgos Margaritis
Radio Producer
Headquarters
G12HUB
Karadjordjeva 59, Belgrade
Synergy-o
31 Kolonou Str., Athens
Local Partners Belgrade
Cinema Zvezda
G12HUB
KC Grad
Mikser
Ministry of Space
Street Smart
Local Partners Athens
Athens Biennale
Beton 7
Elaionas Open Reception Center
for Refugees
Fabrica
Green Park
Incrediblu
Institute for Research on Music
and Acoustics (IEMA)
Production Partners
Hubertus Design
Design
Astrom / Zimmer
Website
Ana Dragić
Production Belgrade
Tamara Marković
Communications Belgrade
Jelena Piljić (G12HUB)
Ivana Upalac
Production Assistance Belgrade
Nefeli Myrodia
Maria Petinaki
Dimitris Theodoropoulos
Production & Communications Athens
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Imprint Publication
Heller Enterprises
Concept
Duscha Kistler
Editor
Nicholas Schärer
Editorial Assistant
Kerstin Landis
Scott Vander Zee
Jonas Voegeli
(Hubertus Design)
Design
Caslon SDC
Typeface
Pro Futura
Paper
Marjeta Morinc
Widmer & Fluri GmbH
Lithography
Martin della Valle
(Textmax GmbH)
Translator & Copy Editor
Druckerei Odermatt AG
Printing
Bubu
(Buchbinderei Burkhardt)
Binding
Index of Images
Lukatoyboy
11, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 21
Uwe Lützen
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Svetlana Marchenko
9
Dimitris Polymenopoulos
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Thank you
Milan Adnađ
Chalil Alizada
Milica Bošković
Jelena Delić
Mina Đukić
Natalia Cvik
Christos Christopoulos
Aggeliki Christopoulou
Stefan Čović
Iva Čukić
Stefan Jodorovic
Danilo Jovičić
Valentina Karga
Armin Kerber
Bojana Knežević
Alex Kontos
Nick Kouros
Ana Lagator
Maja Lalić
Ivan Lalić
Bojana Ljubišić
Veljko Lopičić
Katarina Mladenović
Yolanda Markopoulou
Manolis
Boško Medić
Vladimir Miljević
Oleg Misirača
Antonis Myrodias
Melia Myrodia
Predrag Najdenov
Vladimir Radinović
Ulrich Schutz
Nefeli Skarmea
Aleksandar Stojanović
Ljudmila Stratimirović
Milica Sužnjević
Chrysanthi Theodosi
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Stefan Todorović
Tina Trajković-Filipović
Dejan Ubović
Andrej Žikić
Special Thanks
Nia Schmidheiny
Gabriel Bachmann
Everyone in the
Sound Development team
Links
www.sound-development-city.com
Project Website
www.sound-development.com
Sound Development
© 2016 Sound Development
and the authors
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