The Politics Of Parts: Sizzling Semiconductors – a workshop with Ioana Vreme Moser
Published
As part of the symposium “The Only Lasting Truth is Change”, BEK invites artists and musicians to the workshop “The Politics Of Parts: Sizzling Semiconductors” with Ioana Vreme Moser.
Sizzling Semiconductors commences as a screaming tone at the precise touch, of a radio-sensitive mineral. The workshop proposes the construction of oscillating instruments from scratch to investigate the multifaceted history of electronic parts, semiconductive stones, their presence in electronic devices, and environmental decay.
Following the path of Galena crystals from antiquity to the industrial revolution, we will observe how these crystals enabled the first communication network through their demodulating capacities and how our present computational devices became so dependent on rare earths. We will peak at crystal radio cults, amateur activities, and informational wars carried on waves, transmitted and received through stones.
Inspired by early 20th-century radio discoveries, we will create sounding electronic instruments out of scrap metal pieces and stones. Galvanized steel, a very usual leftover seems to bear inconspicuous properties once made incandescent: negative resistance peaks. Following Nyle Steiner’s experiments, we will enact negative resistance oscillators shaped as cat whiskers with components built from scratch. An old screw can become a surrogate for a transistor to scream modulated tones when treated properly.
The participants will acquire knowledge in both technical and historical aspects of electronics to understand the methods of reinforcing communication networks out of leftovers. They will be guided to construct, bend, drill, solder, and reinvent circuitry. Heavy manual work is implied.
Prior experience in electronics is warmly welcomed but not necessary.
The workshop will consist of two sessions and take place at BEK
7 November 10:00-16:00,
8 November 10:00-16:00.
It is free and will be held in English. To register for the workshop series, please send an email to bek@bek.no by 15 October. The places are limited.
This workshop is organised in collaboration between BEK, Nuts And Bolts, Ekko, and Østre.
IOANA VREME MOSER
Ioana Vreme Moser is a Romanian sound artist engaged with hardware electronics, speculative research and tactile experimentation. In her practice, she uses rough electronic processes to obtain different materialities of sound. She places electronic components and control voltages in different situations of interaction with her body, organic materials, lost and found items and environmental stimuli. From these collisions, synthesised sounds emerge to carry personal narrations and observations on the history of electronics, their production chains and wastelands and entanglements in the natural world. https://www.ioanavrememoser.com/
NUTS AND BOLTS
Nuts And Bolts association aims to promote decentralised and experimental activities and discourses within music technology, through projects such as workshops, podcast and tutorial series, as well as curatorial and mapping activities. nutsandbolts.space / instagram.com/nutsandboltspodcast
THE ONLY LASTING TRUTH IS CHANGE
The Only Lasting Truth is Change is an expanded symposium investigating current and future configurations of art, technology, nature and power, and taking place in Bergen and online 9-13 November 2022. The detailed programme will be announced on 12 October at www.bek.no
The symposium is organised by BEK with support from Norsk kulturråd, Fritt Ord, Bergen kommune and Royal Norwegian Embassy in Beijing, and in cooperation with Northing, Hordaland kunstsenter, Ekko, Østre, Nuts And Bolts, and Entrée. Graphic design by Vera Gomes.
Photo: Ioana Vreme Moser.