WAVE
Collaboration with Fernando Obieta
2018

In September 2018 Fernando Obieta and Gregor Vogel performed the third iteration of their sound performance series which was called WAVE. In contrast to the preceding two editions, the performance was split into three separate parts staged over the course of two days.
The two artists performed in interplay with a computer running a pure data patch capable of outputting randomly generated sounds which they altered using effect pedals such as reverbs, flangers, or distortions. For each of the three events, the audience was invited to contribute to the soundscape by interacting with a triangle, a rainmaker, or a microphone connected to the church‘s speaker system used during the masses.
The work is reminiscent of the protestant reformation, during which all kinds of visual art and ornamentation were removed from churches to be able to focus on the essential components of religion. As the leading figures of the reformation proposed for the church services, WAVE aims to break the border between the performers and the audience. Thus all areas of the church space were accessible for everyone present. The two artists performed in the church‘s main room and the choir as well as on the stairs in between. In contrast to contemporary conventions in performance art, the artists invited the attendees to speak and interact with them.
All three concerts including the voices and sounds emitted by the audience were recorded and published on Bandcamp.