|
By Laxmi Murthy This was a space created by a different kind of CIA -- the Cellule d'Intervention d'APO33, or the Cell of Intervention of APO33. Sophie Gosselin, Julien Ottavi, Jean-Francois Rolez and others from this unusual experimental music collective based in Nantes , France , were also responsible for the sound system at the World Social Forum 2004 (WSF). Artists in the CIA create music out of the contexts specific to each situation in which it is located. They use the sound medium as a sphere of activity and tool of articulation for interventions. "Our inspiration is sound and space. You can never be distant from sound -- it is always part of you," says Ottavi. "Removing constrictions from space and from the mind is our mission. And we do this through the practise of music." Our organisational principle too is based on musical notes, explains Gosselin. "There are seven notes, all different, but there is no hierarchy. They are all important and equal, and all necessary to create a melody. Our collective tries to function in this way -- to give space to all members to be creative." Yet they are often treated as 'mere' technicians, rues Gosselin, even in an'alternative' space like the WSF, and the political aspects of technology are not realised. The social relations and division of labour with the use of any technology is a political statement, the artists believe. When they arrived in Mumbai, a month before the forum, the artist/activists were disappointed to find that most of the technical 'support' staff had been hired to do a job, and were not involved in the process of setting up the sound system. Members of the CIA themselves were viewed merely as sound technicians, not activists with a different vision of society. This alienation, the CIA feels, is what they are trying to address through their work. "Presently, society restricts art to a 'special' place. What is outside this space is not considered 'art'. We want to change that," says Ottavi. He describes a sound game played by the Inuit of North America, which involves producing a variety of sounds from the throat, which the other players respond to and take forward. The group attempts to talk about art in daily life, the tools we all use -- for instance, kitchen tools, bowls, spoons -- and other sounds produced in our daily lives. "Popular art is fast disappearing and being taken over by commercial interests, along with a trend towards universalisation and the creation of a single language of art that is shaped by the market," says Ottavi. "We try to create a space to challenge the vision of time where there is one separate time when you produce and sell, and a separate time when you do what you want. We try to integrate the time you are paid with the time you do what you desire." But these efforts cannot be individual. This is no cloistered group of experimental artists, however. Their vision prompts them to engage with regular structures, like city councils. In a recent project near their hometown Nantes, the CIA set up a broadcast network where different sounds from a kitchen, a private space and a public space were broadcast interactively to each of the spaces, giving space to creativity and reflection. The group also performs, organises concerts and gives shape to their philosophy that, through music you can think your life differently. For more information visit www.appo3.org -- Laxmi Murthy is a Delhi-based journalist (InfoChange News & Features, January 2004)
|
