In Untitled [\Requiem] a visual and a musical composition are developed parallel, based on a common abstract form. Video and music develop independently and according to their medium, but at the same time they go through the same formal process.

 

A man dressed in a black suit carrying an umbrella wanders through a mountainscape which is partly covered with snow. The barren landscape doesn’t seem stable and keeps changing constantly. Over time holes and gapes emerge and uncover the pixels of which the digital image is made of. Symbols like the moon, crystals or water create a dream-like feel and thus create a closeness to surrealism. Similar to these art forms, no coherent story can be made tangible behind these symbols. The video follows a formal, visual composition, with no narrative content.

The music spreads out a web of trumpet-like sounds which evokes the feeling of movement. At the same time manipulated vocal and orchestral passages are woven into this fabric. The contrasting sound surface becomes increasingly blurred and forms new patterns.

 

 

The collage-like look of the video is created by masking the video image. Through this process not only holes and gapes emerge but also the pixels which uncover the nature of the digital image. The two-dimensional image space is broken up and a z-axis is introduced as a third dimension. This is revealed by the perforated individual video tracks which are layered behind each other in space.

The auditory level interweaves different acoustic material in a similar way.

The main part is taken from Renaissance music and cantatas by J.S. Bach. Sampling techniques from hip-hop and typesetting techniques from classical music are used to form a new musical material.

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Visual composition:

Magdalena Salner

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Musical composition:

MandelBaum (aka Manuel Baumer)

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Untitled [\Requiem] has been screened at the opening night of Diametrale - Filmfestival für Experimentelles und Komisches in Innsbruck in July 2020.

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Untitled [\Requiem] has been be screened at OVER THE REAL- Festival Internazionale di Videoarte in Lucca, ITALY in October 2021.

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Untitled [\Requiem] has been part of the exhibition This_Place_ment_ at Das LOT in Vienna in November 2021.

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Untitled [\Requiem] has been be screened at TRANÅS AT THE FRINGE - International Arts Filmfestival in Tranås, SWEDEN in Juli 2022.

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Review by Francesco Cazzin

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