Friday, October 3, 8:00 PM
Saturday, October 4, 4:00 PM and 8:00 PM
Sunday, October 5, 4:00 PM
Venue: RIXC Media Space
11. novembra krastmala 35
Duration: 60 min.
Ticket price: 4 Ls

BBM supporters:

LR Kultūras ministrija
Mūzikas Dizaina grupa
SIA Ocean Group
Latvijas Mākslinieku savienības galerija

Black Butterfly Market
Mixed media performance in three continual parts for sound, picture, live musicians and/else moving objects

Creative group BBM, Latvia

Music: Martins Taurins and Orests Silabriedis
Video: VJ Planktons
Costume designer - Tinte
Director and producer: Zane Kreicberga
Poetry (Part 3): Janis Elsbergs and Ieva Rupenheite
Translations: Janis Plaudis and Ilmars Zvirgzds
Soloists: Kaspars Putnins, Ivars Cinkuss, Inga Martinsone, Dace Puce, Normunds Kirsis and Ieva Parsa
Percussions: Edgars Saksons
Wind instruments: Oskars Poikans
Sound processing: Viktors Andrejevs
Lighting - Juris Brisons and Janis Liberts

Supported by: Culture Capital Foundation, New Theatre Institute of Latvia,
RIXC, Music Design Group, Ocean Group

Premiere: October 3, 2003

Performance

Photo © Arturs Perkons

The conception of the performance stems from the idea of media synthesis. Sound (recorded, digitally processed and live), picture (filmed, modified, as well as sampled in real time by using close circuit cameras and other photo elements), movement (people in space), light (and darkness) function as media that allow telling a story about three worlds around man and about relativity of time or ecological study of the ritual nature of urbanised man. The authors of the project are interested in the way visual images emerge under the influence of music and vice versa - the way visual rhythm affects musical composition; the way the sound pattern of the text provokes creation of music and the way all the components, joining in the space, create an atmosphere belonging to a genre difficult to define. The end result will be an acoustic and visual space that can be perceived in a variety of ways, in which every viewer/listener finds his/her own space for associations, considerations and/or just contemplation.

Photo © Arturs Perkons

The structure of the musical composition and the performance is made up by three conceptually different parts - the Unborn, Live and Dead Worlds. The first part combines DVD format (surround audio and video) and stage installation. The basis for the musical work and the picture is playing of wooden humming-tops upon a satellite dish. The potential of life is in the stage of a wish, and, with the beginning of the second part, it gradually grows to a real life "party", in which not only human bodies, but also, as it were, the sound and the text become tangible. The four singers perform also the traditional functions of actors. Each of them is a human being who enters into this world, lives there and in the end - loses this world. The musicians (percussion and wind instruments) are also integrated into the system of images. The third part - the Dead World - reminds of itself suddenly and inevitably. Four symbolic walls appear - conditional space of the past - four recitals in Latvian, Latin, Hebrew and Ancient Greek as static objects - stelae. This chain "dead- living" is formed by confronting the original text in Latvian (a poem written especially for this project by Janis Elsbergs) and its translations into the ancient (dead) languages, by projecting on the screen visualisation of ornamental letters and sounds. The final duet of the composition from the dance of death around the stelae transforms into an affirmation of eternal love. Perhaps reality, perhaps a dream. It is difficult to wake up. Back into the dream.

Photo © Arturs Perkons

Music

The idea of the project "Black Butterfly Market" (BBM) belongs to Martins Taurins (1978-2003) - a composer of the younger generation, who seriously and professionally was working with electronic acoustic music. He became known to a wider audience after a concert of electronic music at the 1st Studio of the Latvian Radio (Festival of New Music "Arena", 2002), when the co-work by Martins Taurenis and Peteris Kimelis (VJ Planktons) "The Focal Point" (The 1^st part of BBM) was broadcasted. Taurins composed and produced music for nearly 20 theatre performances in almost all Latvian professional theatres. He considered as noteworthy his cooperation with the Latvian Radio Choir, performing Andris Dzenitis' work for choir, live electronic music and phonogram "…conditions… wakening up… pensive silence" (2002). The CD of untraditional folk music "Ligo" (2003), published by music publisher "Upe", which Martins produced together with Zane Smite, was the last finished work by Taurins. On July 19, 2003 he passed away.

Music for the 3^rd part of BBM was composed by Orests Silabriedis (1971), who has also assumed the role of the musical leader of BBM. Orests is better known as music journalist ("Muzikas Saule", "NRA", "Forums") and the moderator of programs at the Latvian Radio 3 "Classics". However, he has also composed interesting vocal chamber music (performed by Ieva Parsa) with the lyrics by Janis Elsbergs, Ieva Rupenheite, Andris Akmentins and Inguna Jansone, as well as music for song game "The First Act" (text by Janis Elsbergs), that was noted during the International Festival of Contemporary Theatre "Homo Novus '99". Silabriedis has composed music also for theatre performances (his cooperation with Martins Taurins was especially fruitful), however considers the relations between language, text and music the prime object of his interest.

Video

VJ Planktons (Peteris Kimelis, 1977) together with Martins Taurins is the author of the BBM idea and the creator of its visual conception. VJ Planktons, who has studied new media and the basis of video art at the Stockholm Royal Academy of Arts, has participated in various multimedia and Internet projects, video installations and performances. For the novelty of creative achievements in the social mass media project "Tea Mushroom" (together with Katrina Neiburga and art bureau OPEN) he was awarded the 2001 Annual Award of the Latvian Artists' Union and the Culture Capital Foundation. Since 1997 he has been involved with the centre of electronic art and media "E-Lab" and Internet radio "Ozone".

Director
Zane Kreicberga (1971) graduated from the Latvian Academy of Culture, the course for actors and directors under the guidance of Peteris Krilovs in 1997. For more than 10 years was a member of Ansis Rutentals Movement Theatre. Zane made her debut as a director with a variation on the theme of Jean Paul Sartre's "Room" at the independent theatre "Skatuve" (1997). She has staged the works by such authors as Bertolt Brecht, Somerset Maugham, Olga Mukhina. Her productions for children in various Latvian theatres have gained special recognition. The music of almost all her productions was composed by Orests Silabriedis and Martins Taurins. Their cooperation started in 1994 when they were producing a poetry performance of young poets. Zane is especially interested in the interplay and merging of various genres, stepping over the limits of genres. Presently Kreicberga manages projects at the New Theatre Institute of Latvia and is teaching stage movement to the future actors at the Latvian Academy of Culture.

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