The number of CCTV cameras watching us is increasing. Wherever we go,
each movement is being tracked and observed. CCTV music is an
interactive sound installation using the same technique as security
service but instead of a visual image an audible interpretation of the
supervised area is given. The installation reacts to each and every
movement; the combination of direction, intensity, and size decides
what sound is going to be heard. There are also lines and scales where
specific notes can be found.
CCTV music is not only a comment to the increasingly supervised society
but also a music instrument, a stage, and a toy. Anyone who enters the
installation is both musician and dancer. Clearly, it questions the
traditional relationship between music and dance. We are used to dance
relating to music that is usually composed beforehand, perhaps even
pre-recorded. In CCTV music, though, music is created by movement, and
completely dependent on it. That gives unusual power, and unusual
possibilities, to the mover. On the other hand one cannot move within
the installation without making a sound. The installation also
questions the traditional relationship between performer and audience.
CCTV music can be said to be a democratic stage where anyone can entre
or leave at any point in the improvised performance. At the same time
it is like a giant baby gym for all ages – and it sure is
joyful to play in it!
CCTV music has sprung out of the project
Interaktiver Pavillon in
Dresden, Germany. The Interactive Pavilion is a sound installation
developed by
TransMedieAkademie Hellerau, and is situated in a wooden
structure in the city centre of Dresden. It is active daytime all
around the year, and anyone can use it to produce sound and music.
Sound set-ups were made by different musicians, and are changed a
couple of times a year. In 2006 and 2007, Christian Björklund
made two different set-ups for the Pavilion. Christian
Björklund and Emelie Bardon are also involved in the project
European Tele-Plateaus, a further development of the Interactive Pavilion.
European Tele-Plateaus connects interactive installations in several European
countries.
