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TITLE: Lingua Aqua- City of Surrey Art Commission
CLIENT: City of Surrey- Cultural Capital of Canada Commission
CONTACT: mfa13@sfu.ca, jimbiz@sfu.ca (always contact both simultaneously)
1) OVERVIEW:
We begin to hear before we are born, four and a half months after conception. From then on, we develop in a continuous and luxurious bath of sounds: the song of our mother’s voice, the swash of her breathing, the trumpeting of her intestines, the timpani of her heart. Throughout the second four-and-a-half months, Sound rules as solitary Queen of our senses: the close and liquid world of uterine darkness makes Sight and Smell impossible, Taste monochromatic, and Touch a dim and generalized hint of what is to come. Birth brings with it the sudden and simultaneous ignition of the other four senses, and an intense competition of the throne that Sound had claimed as hers. The most notable pretender is the darting and insistent Sight, who dubs himself King as if the throne had been standing vacant, waiting for him.
Ever discreet, Sound pulls a veil of oblivion across her reign and withdraws into the shadows, keeping a watchful eye on the braggart Sight. If she gives up her throne, it is doubtful that she gives up her crown.
- Walter Murch
Lingua Aqua is a public artwork commissioned by the City of Surrey, British Columbia ($100k budget) combining sculptural, waterworks and audiovisual media to materialize this original “bath of sounds” from which language emerges. It is a self-enclosed fountain utilizing flowing water, single channel video, four-channel audio, and engraved transparent panels to create a space for contemplating the variety and importance of the world’s languages. The title of the work is a pun on the idea of a “lingua franca” or common language, and is intended to provoke thoughts on the diversity and commonalities of language across cultures. Spoken language is back-grounded by the sound of flowing water, and the video imagery of native speakers is modulated by the subtle optics of a rippling reflective pool and rain curtains. There is an interactive element as well, as visitors to Lingua Aqua will be able to make their own disturbances in the reflective pool to alter the imagery.
2) PROJECT GOALS:
There is a significant amount of audiovisual content to be produced for this installation. Students will be able to produce media (sound and video) which will become integral to this installation. This video needs to be produced in tandem with a major effort of community engagement, and must align with the aesthetic parameters of the project.
3) PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
MEDIA:
Structure: The main structure will be made of painted steel consisting of a reflective pool, an enclosure beneath the pool for a video monitor, four columns containing speakers and plumbing elements, a roof structure for the reservoir, and engraved glass panels containing graphic symbols taken from the world’s languages which will create reflections on the concrete below. On two sides of the structure are rain curtains which create a semi-enclosed space, while park benches face the open sides of the fountain. The video display will be a 57” Sunbrite waterproof high definition display submerged in a separate housing underneath the reflective pool and visible through its center.
Water: The fountain system will be self-contained, re-circulating water from the reflective pool to the roof reservoir. The underside of the roof will contain a mirror, and the reflecting pool will be mirrored as well in the spaces around the video monitor, in order to create a visual richness and interaction amongst the elements of the structure, the site and the viewers of the piece. The roof will have openings in the top which will enable it to make use of rain water for its replenishment.
Rain Shelter: The overhanging glass panels will offer shelter from rain as well as some relief from direct sunlight. It will be etched with symbols from the world’s writing systems.
Columns: The columns will enclose the audio speakers, so that they will be completely inaccessible. The audio will be transmitted through holes in the columns that will be in the form of Braille writing. These openings will emanate audio at various heights, so as to be easily heard by children of various ages and adults.
Video: The video content will consist of at least one hundred native speakers, including sign language. We will employ a range of visual treatments, incorporating examples of the following: split-screen images, candid street level cinematography, green-screen compositing, close-ups on mouths, a variety of camera angles and levels of abstraction so that the speakers themselves are not always identifiable. We will also experiment with interplay between the audio and video channels, so that they do not always “mirror” each other in the synchronization of sound and image.
Audio: Each of the four columns will contain a weatherproofed audio speaker. The video will be accompanied by four-channel audio, meaning that each of the four columns will be capable of conveying a different channel of audio content, which affords us a range of expressive possibilities, ranging from including translations of speech into various languages simultaneously to abstracting voices into semi-musical patterns. The audio will be set at a volume so as not to be heard from too great a distance, and thus inviting physical proximity and engagement with the audio content. Also, it will be heard that at times the audio content is different in each column/speaker, and this will be an invitation to explore the four channels.
Language Content: We will ask native speakers to elaborate on a range of questions relevant to their mother language, including the following:
• Tell us a joke.
• Describe what occurs to you when you are out and about and you unexpectedly
hear someone speaking your mother tongue.
• What is one of your favorite stories?
• What are some common “sayings or anecdotes” from your home-land?
INTERNATIONAL MOTHER LANGUAGE DAY
Lingua Aqua will be a stand-alone artwork as well as a format for new works of audiovisual media created for it created in celebration of International Mother Language Day. For example, the City of Surrey can hold an annual contest for new site-specific audiovisual media on the theme of mother languages, and over time Surrey would develop a repertoire of video works for Lingua Aqua. These competitions could be local or international in scope, and involve an array of Surrey residents as well as citizens at large. The audiovisual technology we are employing utilizes familiar iPod style playlists of video content, and it will be a simple matter to incorporate new media content to the fountain’s playback system. The Gardens is a beautiful space for community gatherings as it is removed from the hubbub of the more active spaces of the park, has plenty of open green space, and features the octagonal patio with enclosing columns that can work well for a range of public stagings.
SITE
The structure will be sited in the Gardens area of Bear Creek Park. This area offers quiet spaces that lend themselves to audiovisual media. Other areas of the park have significant noise levels due to the proximity of major roads, athletic fields and playground areas. A work that uses audio elements to create an engagement with language would be hindered by these high noise levels, and the Gardens section offers suitable ambient levels for a work about language.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Surrey has many community centers we would work with for meeting and videotaping native speakers, ranging from the Kla-how-eya Aboriginal Centre of Surrey to the Sikh Gurdwaras. Community centers throughout the metro area, such as the Croatian Cultural Centre and the various Chinese Cultural Centres, will also be engaged. Surrey abounds in places where native speakers congregate: restaurants, festivals, street and night markets, and places of worship. We will also implement a project website where we will solicit input from Surrey residents, and create a moderated forum for public engagement with Lingua Aqua.
4) IMAGE[s] or URLs that exemplify project concept or research area:
http://www.filimowicz.com/public-art.html
5) DELIVERABLES:
1) A wide variety – as many as possible- of native speakers must be engaged, including First Nations. Individuals, community groups, and appropriate locations must be sought out in the pre-production phase of the project.
2) Video content within the projects aesthetic parameters needs to be created. Additionally, a significant amount of post-production work needs to be done to give the footage an appropriate level of polish, as well as taking into account the effects of natural light.
6) SKILLS REQUIRED:
• Pre-production planning.
• Video production skills (at least IAT 344 level)
• Audio recording/sound design skills (at least IAT 344 or 380 level)
• Post-production (Final Cut Pro, After Effects: including editing, compositing, and animation, at IAT 434, 344 or 443 level)
7) RESOURCES
• SIAT studio labs and post-production suites.
• Hard drives and media storage will be provided to teams, who must be responsible for backing up all media regularly.