"Chorus"
video. Exhibition "We", Forum of Art Initiatives, New Manege, Moscow


Four people are singing four songs simultaneously. Four different persons, four different songs, four different mimics. But the audience hears only some noise which happens in concert hall before the beginning of any performance. At the end of this silent action audience hears applauds.



- No one of us can understand the state of each other, even when we are together.

- So it would look true, retrograde actions must be in the same space. We think we are singing a chorus, but we don't hear each other.

- How can we make it seem that there is lacking of sound because of technical problems?

- Strange, when a question arises about defects.

- Impossible. If someone would have such a thought that means that he is a stranger who does not understand anything. But isn't it a quick conclusion?

- We are discussing it to exclude the chance for it to look like a joke or naturalism.

- To exclude the possibility of such a reception we need a sound track.

- It would not hurt to have unexpected silence.

- The sound comes from something visible or behind the frame.

- Sound of zephyrs in the breeze or sound of an ocean, or light whistle of the wind.

- Burning wood popping in the chimney, likewise the candles in the room.

- Maybe there is another version, chorus singing behind the glass.

- The glass becomes an obstruction, and the others might misunderstand the reason for the lack of sound.

- The background sound will be congruent with our singing or not?

- Everything will be obvious from our different mimicry!

- Conversely, the others will say that we are about to back down and manifest weakness. We are trying to save ourselves unsuccessfully!

- Our will to reach is tricking us, every time we are gnawing, we end up with an inedible product!

- Lets arrange cause and affect.

- Work of art supposed to be understood but not understandable!

- But it is difficult to sing different songs together! We will disturb each other!

- It is our normal disposition. And in general how different is our chorus from what is considered normal?!

- Is it like professional singing or just loud singing?

- Perhaps we will be handicapped singers without vocal chords.

- But it will be tough to sing together because we are not handicapped!

- When we are singing we must clog our ears with cotton.

- I can bring lots of ear plugs.

- I don't understand why Odyssey was strapped to the mast of the ship, it would have been much easier to clog his ears. It is not mentioned if the Sirens were as beautiful as their voices were.

- What about the sailors? They were deaf? Or, were they simpletons who can not appreciate beauty? The captain was driven crazy. Were the sailors wobbling when they walked the deck like cold shadows, and sedated by the Sirens' voices?

- Can we predict what kind of reaction would we expect if it was someone else?

- Feelings of despair and irretrievable loss emerge from endless pity for those who are trying.

- And here as well with each individual singer.

- Does it seem that during the singing, sound waves do not appear because of a corporeal reason?

- This can be only in a vacuum where waving hands and singing is futile.

- We can not deny life or entirely devote ourselves to art. Accept the rules of the game and apply them to others.

- Also Art has been a game and an illusion. But we would like to get to the highest possible level of deception.

- Alternatively - perhaps they do not hear us and suppose that they are deaf.

- Only, in the case where is no background sound.

- Additionally everyone must have their own tune!

- Let's say one is chanting a prayer and the one next to him is singing an anthem and everything might come out distorted. They are singing different songs or can not synchronize the rhythm of the same song.

- We must have richer mimicry than a professional singer does. Only thus we will reach the same level of expressiveness and the same level of perceptiveness as if the others were hearing us.

- We can study the mimicry of the chorus when they are singing in unison.

- Better to see once than to hear many times.

- The attempt at singing must be during complete quiet.

- No, the chorus must be loud.

- Everything would be much simpler and we will reach unity, if each one of us would know his own part.

- The title must be simply "Chorus."


Valeriy Ayzenberg