Popcorn Ausbildung (Popcorn in Training) is a participatory workshop-installation that draws on the Fluxus happening format to explore the materiality of technology and collaborative sound practice. Upon entry, the public is given a hand drawn ticket — good for one Oscillator Kit (wires, resistors, capacitors, and chips), Popcorn and access to the ‘Beautitronics Lounge’ where they can build jewelry out of old cables and e-waste.
Along with the support of the artist and volunteers, the public interprets a large-scale schematic and builds squarewave oscillators that make popping metronomic beats that are amplified by a series of relatively old and somewhat broken-down household loudspeaker placed throughout the space. Over the course of the event, an immersive soundscape builds up where pops, clicks, and squeaks slip in and out of sync, creating unexpected encounters with harmony and happenstance.
This work engages experimentation with DIY electronics, hand-crafting and dynamic troubleshooting as an improvisational approach to experimental sound, while creating moments of communal agency and a playful demystification of technology through direct material engagement.
This work was produced in the context of the Open HertzLab at Zentrum für Kunst und Medien (DE) and further developed for Instrumentarium at WRO Art Centre (PL), where it was brought into dialog with Paweł Janicki’s autonomous prepared Piano Music Box r30.
Special thanks to Lea Luka Sikau (Curator — HertzLab, ZKM) and Vita Louis Mahomedova (Curator / Producer Instrumentarium – WRO Art Center).