The Grand Pragotron Spatialized
Czarny Latawiec
sound chamber/sound installation
The Grand Pragotron is a collection of letters and signs of former spit-flap display boards, acquired in the spring of 2015 by the BWA Wrocław Dizajn gallery team. Rescued during dismantling at the railway station in Bydgoszcz, they have been reassembled and activated as a display presenting the gallery's programme. Their fate would have been uncertain if not for Krzysztof Tyszecki, an engineer and their loving caretaker, who was able to put them into motion without the original control unit. It is thanks to him and the collaboration of artists and curators that today not only can we display a message on them, but also to use them as a musical instrument.
Spatialization is a process of arranging sound sources to enhance the quality of the listening experience. Thus, the Grand Pragotron Spatialized constitutes an incarnation of the Dizajn gallery display, focusing on the machine’s unique sound qualities. – Let us imagine that the Grand Pragotron has been struck by a meteorite and disintegrated into smaller elements – says Czarny Latawiec, an artist, critic and music producer. This experiment improves the process of listening, not only to the pragotron sounds, but also to the space with which it resonates. In order to get to know a new place well, we first have to listen to it carefully.
In the listening room you can hear his composition for ambisonic field recordings and pragotron. The space also serves as a temporary venue for the activities of Canti Spazializzati and the fifth edition of the workshop and concert series dedicated to theories and practices of experimental music focused on the concepts of spatialization of sound compositions. This time the workshops will be conducted by Paulina Czerek (Beniovska). The most interesting works created during the workshops will be presented during the final concert on 30th March at 6 p.m., accompanying the premiere compositions by Piotr Bednarczyk, Beniovska and Jędrzej Borowski. We will also listen to early multi-channel radio plays by Joan La Barbara.