On Tuesday 17th January 2017 the Concertzender studio in Utrecht will be celebrating a special birthday. The so-called Art’s Birthday, the birthday of Art!

This is a celebration in memory of the French Fluxus-artist Robert Filliou. Fluxus is the art movement with a lot of serious and less serious craziness. In the 1960's it was the art movement which knocked over the sacred conventions and experimented to the limit. The word ‘fluxus’ comes from the Latin and means among other things ‘cleansing, purifying stream’. George Maciunas, regarded as the founder of Fluxus, used it first in 1961 for art events which destroyed the border between art and music. The two best-known Dutch Fluxus artists are undoubtedly Willem de Ridder and Wim T. Schippers. A number of famous international artists were also drawn to Fluxus, such as John Cage, Nam June Paik, Joseph Beuys and La Monte Young.

Dry sponge

However it happened, on 17th January 1963 Robert Filliou declared that 1 million years ago someone threw a dry sponge into a bucket of water. According to the Frenchman that marked the birth of art. The first celebration took place ten years later. That took place in the Neue Galerie in Aken. Filliou died in 1987, but several artists continued with what Filliou himself described as the use of La Fête Permanente, celebrating the anniversary of art through mail art, faxmail and slow scan television. A perfect example of internet art.

Large-scale radio-event

The Internationale Ars Acustica Groep of the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) has for many years organised in celebration of this Art's Birthday Party a large scale radio-event. European public and independent broadcasters worldwide will broadcast a 4 hour long programme on 17th January, sent out via two EBU-broadcast satellites (called Haydn and Liszt). Artists, musicians and sound artists send out acoustic gifts into the ether from the various studios . Every broadcaster gets a time allocated on one of the satellites, so the gifts can be heard everywhere.

De Concertzender is proud to take part in this as with last year with Café Sonore. In the past, when the programme fell under the VPRO umbrella, this honour was strictly reserved in the Netherlands for the public broadcasters, but they have not taken part in this sort of event for a number of years.Hero Wouters en Bianca Holst

A special acoustic gift

It goes without saying that the Concertzender is happy to pick up this torch. Hence the very first Art’s Birthday contribution by Café Sonore, around 11 years ago, which was a cooperation with Concertzender, then based in Hilversum. We are thus very happy to be part of the celebration of the 1 million and 54th anniversary of art, with a special acoustic gift: a new work from the duo Bianca Holst and Hero Wouters. They are particularly known under the name Stichting COM which stands for Composers of Original Music. Specially for this event they'll be peforming live in the concert studio their Art's Birthday 2017 composition, a work voor Animoog (Bianca's special instrument) and voice entitled: Climate of Pi. This will take place precisely between 21:40 and 22:00 CET and can be heard live on the satellite.

A total work of art

Bianca herself says the following: “One millioen and 54 years ago, when art discovered itself, that put an end to nature's monopoly on creativity. So: still going strong after all these years, Art! We wish you another million years in full consciousness and admiration.

Do we fear Nature's art?

Do we desire the nature of Art?

Man's influence is obvious in the warming of the atmosphere and oceans, in changes in the global water cycle, in the disappearance of snow and ice, in the global rise in sea levels and extreme climate changes. Man is developing an artificial climate in order to survive, a truly total work of art. As artists we have to value human creativity. In this live radio performance for ’Kunst’ I want to approach and shelter people intimately in the unmeasurable ‘climate of Pi’, where the wind whistles through your bones, the sun melts your heart, thunder makes you shudder, the cold of the lake refreshes your soul and of course your radio sparkles in the ether.”

Unexpected guests

In the Café Sonore Special in honour of this Art’s Birthday 2017 you can listen for 4 hours to all the beautiful items broadcast by the global broadcasters. A number of expected and unexpected guests will also perform and with a bit of luck there will also be spontaneous listening games created by none other than Willem de Ridder. In short a tremendous Fluxus evening.

You're very welcome on 17th January between 20:00 and 24:00 CET. You can reserve a place via Hessel Veldman.

In the regular Café Sonore broadcast on 11th January there will be a sampler and you can still listen to the Art’s Birthday composition from last year by Henry Vega. If you want to know all about what's going to happen on 17th January click on the special Art’s Birthday page of the EBU.

Art’s Birthday: Café Sonore special on Tuesday 17 January 2017 from 20:00 to 24:00 CET

 

Concertgebouw

CZ partners

 

 

GreenhostStichting Educatie en CulttuurRTV UtrechtGemeente UtrechtSaltoPrins Bernhard Cultuurfonds