Ptarmigan operated in Tallinn from 2011-2014. We no longer maintain any presence in Tallinn, but this website will continue to serve as an archive of the activities produced at Ptarmigan during these years.
Aspec(t) featuring 70fps
Aspec(t) are SEC_ and Mario Gabola from Naples, Italy. They have released several records in CD and LP. SEC_ plays Revox tape recorder, computer and no-input feedback manipulated on tape. Mario plays saxophone and feedbacks through an electro-acoustic chain of resonant drums, microphones and little speakers. Their music shares the timbrical research and the execution control typical of some radical improv music, but meets the visceral intensity and the obscure poetic of the new aktionsm and of noise music as well as the research on analog devices and concrete sound materials of the sonic poetry. The result is a fascinating and inextricable forest of sounds: frenetic structures, noise explosions, ancestral cries, an unceasing perversion of the soundscape and the time stream. Feedback, self-regulating systems, mimicry, mutations, becoming-animal, asymmetrical dislocation are some of the keywords.
Tonight they collaborate with 70fps, aka Andra Saggiomo. In 70fps, Super8 films are prepared by scratching and patching, piercing and ink drawing to be used in a double projection at different speeds. The projection is then manipulated with glass prisms, lens and mirrors. The projectors and their internal mechanics are also used as sound producing objects in relation with voice and electroacoustic stuff.
John W. Fail & Hans-Gunter Lock featuring Ville MJ Hyvönen
John W. Fail is an American-born artist, musician and organiser who works in experimental sound and other collaborative forms. His most recent recording is Lost Lake, released last year in his duo Lied Music, collaborating with sound artists Vernon & Burns. He also released the solo album The 15,000 Day Boat Trip in 2010.
Hans-Gunter Lock is is a composer and a musicologist, and has been living in Estonia since 2000. His creative work consists mainly of electronic music, or combinations with acoustic instruments. Evermore, he specializes in the production of electronic sounds in real-time, creating live-performance environments, which are connected to acoustic instruments, or controlled by electronic performers. He is interested in collaborations with different multimedia and performance artists, and, in addition to his own creative output, tends to exceed the sphere of music performance traditions.
John and Hans-Gunter's electro-acousic improvisations will be accented by video improvisations from Ville MJ Hyvönen.
This month the Tallinn Cage Group will meet on Sunday 15 April and be joined by special guest Stefano Pocci. Stefano will give a short presentation about Cage's influence on his work, and the magazine project diaforia. We will discuss more of Cage's Silence, particularly the Lectures on Something and Nothing. We will also screen the TV documentary 4 American Composers about Cage, made by Peter Greenaway in 1983.
Stefano Pocci (born in Viareggio, Italy on May 7 1976) is a John Cage enthusiast who is participating this year to a tribute to Cage conceived by the independent, self-produced magazine diaforia. He has been in touch with Laura Kuhn from the John Cage Trust on whose blog has contributed an article about the famous participation of Cage as a mushroom expert to the Italian quiz show "Lascia o Raddoppia". He also joined an Open Call for Cage set up by Schunck in Holland in 2010. He is pleased to talk and discuss around the various art issues Cage aroused and challenged throughout his life.
The Tallinn Cage Group is an open series of events exploring the ideas, work and legacy of John Cage in conjunction with the Cage Centennial. These events are free and open to everyone who would like to participate!
Symposium meets again, led by Andres Luure on the topic of discuss signs. The discussion will be in Estonian.
American poet Rebecca Farivar leads this poetry-writing workshop. The format: Every participant will read their poem to the group and get feedback for ways to improve it. Our aim will be to give you some ideas on how to move forward in revising the poem and tell you what parts are already working well. To participate, bring 15 copies of a poem you are working on -- no final drafts!
Workshop limited to 15 participants.
Laur Kaunissaare räägib vaimsest geograafiast ja arutleb kas, kes ja miks kardab Ida-Euroopat ja kas peaks või just mitte.
Lahkavad vestlused on EKA kõigile avatud kevadine vestlusõhtute sari, mille üheks väljundiks on lisada värskeid vaatepunkte õhusolevatesse EKA jutudesse, kuid laiemaks
eesmärgiks täiendada kultuuriüleseid arutlusi teemadel nagu akadeemia funktsioon, ülikool turul, administreeriv õppejõud, eesmärke seadev kultuur.
Järgmisel nädalal vestluses Marek Tamm, hiljem veel Aliina Astrova, Berk Vaher, Erkki Luuk, Mihkel Kunnus, Anders Härm jt.
On Wednesday evening two musicians from UK arrive to Tallinn who willl fill Ptarmigan project space with ambient drones, noise collages and everything between.
TCH
(aka Timothy C Holehouse)
From noise collages to ambient sounds. Extended guitar techniques, loops and focused drawn-out vocal patterns.
timholehouse.com
Left Hand Cuts off the Right
(aka Robbie Judkins)
Left Hand Cuts off the Right is the name of UK experimental musician, Robbie Judkins. His work deals with contemporary sound making practices involving circuit bent electronics, drones, acoustic instrumentation, improvisation, radio interference and distortion, combining pre-recorded samples and live improvisation.
lefthandcutsofftheright.tumblr.com/
This Tuesday we re-launch Elektron Club, an open workgroup for makers, hackers, and people interested in experimenting with electronics. From 18:00 - 21:00 Ptarmigan will be open as a meeting place and lab. Feel free to bring any sort of projects you are working on that you would like to demonstrate, share, or get help with. If you are interested in open-source software, physical computing, or anything similar, please come and participate. Elektron Club will meet regularly and hopefully be a breeding ground for future creative collaborations.
Telling Stories from the East is a one-day conference that includes presentations and discussions on the topic of storytelling. The conference will ask: What kind of storytelling traditions there are in Middle-East and Asia? We will introduce each region’s traditions, stories and ways of interpreting them and discuss how the stories are implemented in different fields of culture e.g. literature and performing arts.
The symposium is meant for the students of Estonian Institute of Humanities who have a great interest in Asian cultures. Conference will be an informal project to support and motivate the students in the academic field. It is also a way of developing the cooperation between students and the academic staff as well. Therefore most people among the presenters are teaching Asian cultures in the Estonian Institute of Humanities. But also some students, who are experts in the topic, will also introduce their researches and experience in this field. But the event is open to everyone!
Some of the presentations and discussions will be in Estonian, some will be in English.
Soon the detailed schedule and list of presenters will be available here, as well as registration options.
This month's meeting of Fake It Til You Make It will, of course, be a surprise as to what we will make. Last month, we made ice cream. Tonight's workshop will tie into the ongoing Trashlab activities in Tallinn.
All are welcome! Please register to let Justin know you're coming so he can prepare accordingly.
This month's Svamp (a free, open sound and music workshop for both musicians and non-musicians) will meet again at Ptarmigan on Sunday afternoon.
As always, we encourage both trained musicians and "non-musicians" to attend. Please bring something to make sound with - an instrument or other object. Amplification will be quite limited so please prepare accordingly (ie: don't bring a laptop).
See you there!
Words, but no one to hear them.
Touches, but no one to feel them.
Team full of loneliness.
Love that becomes empty word.
Shells where we hide from ourselves in the hope to protect us from the others.
Performance with physical improvisation created by young people from different countries (AR, DE, EE, LU, SK), on the basis of different movement and space rules.
John Cage turns 100 in 2012, and all manner of events are underway for a worldwide celebration. At Ptarmigan, we'll be hosting ongoing meetings that will investigate his numerous writings, theories, and compositions. The Tallinn Cage group is organised around the model that Cage's ideas are openings and portals into creative practice; we will begin as a reading group, but hopefully delve into interpretations and performances as the year progresses.
The group is open to all! We'll begin by looking at Cage's most well-known book, Silence, and tonight we'll discuss the first 65 pages ('The Future of Music' through 'Forerunners of Modern Music'). If you need the text, get in touch, as we can provide it.
For more information, see The Cage Centennial.
The idea of this workshop is to introduce electronics, the Arduino open source micro-controller platform and it’s possibilities to partipiciants. Arduino is a little computer that everybody can program to work with different sensor and actuators. You can create robots, synthesizers, alarms or something rather peculiar.
The workshop is primarily intended for those who are not familiar with electronics and Arduino.
Age limit 16y - 999y
NB! Bring your own computer. Arduinos and parts for the workshop are provided by Hobilabor.
Workshop price is 5€ -- (you can pay on the spot in cash).
Schedule
13th - 14 March is the Arduino (arduino.cc) workshop for beginners (programming skills, etc. in the field of electronics are not necessary).
First day:
This workshop is led by Rene Rebane. Rene has graduated from Estonian Academy of Arts graphic design in 2010. One of Hobilabor’s founders and has created many different electronics workshops with Toomas Savi.
Contact:
rene@hobilabor.ee
Tel: 55531873
Links:
arduino.cc
www.hobilabor.ee
Seekordsel sümpoosionil ei räägi me koos Andres Luurega märgist ja tähendusest. Tegelikult ei rääkinud ka viimane kord. Vot nii.
Hakkasime hoopis arutama teemat, mida tähendab olla filosoof.
Kaugele ei jõudnud, sest jäime toppama järjepidevuse ja järjekindluse erinevusejuurde.
Seekord on aga meil plaanis...
Parem siis juba Andres Luure sõnul: "Jätkame järjepidevalt sealt, kus pooleli jäi. Et järjekindlalt jätkata, hakkame otsast peale." :)
Sümpoosion on ka seekord eesti keeles. Kõik on teretulnud!
Sümpoosion toimub Toompeal Ptarmigani projektiruumis Toom-Kooli 13 ja algab kell 20:15.
Processing (processing.org) is technically speaking a java extended class but it is well hidden and we can consider it to be nice simple open source software. Processing is one of the most popular programming environment among artists, with over 400 000 downloads since 2001. Beside openFrameworks, Cinder++, Adobe Flash and MaxMSP - Processing stands out with its simplicity and fast entry point. When one starts using Processing they are not limited to its IDE and it’s base functionality. You can easily integrate processing to other more complex code editors like eclipse and extend it with many useful libraries. Processing is good tool set for anyone interested in creative coding. Ben Fry (the Processing co founder)'s mission statement from the Eyeo 2011 festival: “Processing seeks to ruin the careers of talented designers by tempting them away from their usual tools and into the world of programming and computation. Similarly, the project is designed to turn engineers and computer scientists to less gainfull employment as artists and designers”
This workshop aims to introduce Processing to anyone who is interested in creative coding. We are covering the very basics of the software and a few more complex subjects like form finding and multiple instances. Since we are covering subjects quickly, it is very important to try Processing before the workshop.
NB! Bring your own computer equipped with processing and eclipse.
Workshop price: 10€ (you can pay on the spot in cash).
Programming skills are not mandatory but very helpful.
Objectives
Schedule
First day:
Second day:
Led by:
Raul Kalvo
Raul has graduated from Estonian Academy of Arts - Architecture and City planning department 2009. Worked on numerous exhibition and interaction design projects. Teaching software and geometry related courses in Estonian Academy of Arts since 2008.
Resources:
Software
processing.org
Ben Fry & Casey Reas - Eyeo Festival 2011 (on state of the processing) https://vimeo.com/28117873
Processing tutorials
http://processing.org/learning/
http://www.shiffman.net/teaching/nature/
http://www.funprogramming.org/
Books
Learing Processing - A Beginner’s Guid to Programming Image, Animation, and Interactuib by Danile Shiffman, Margan Kaufamm, 2008
Getting Started with Processing by Ben Fry and Casey Reas, O’Reilly, 2010
Processing by Ben Fry and Casey Reas, MIT Press, 2007
Programming Interactivity by Joshua Nobel, O’Reilly, 2010
Visualizing Data by Ben Fry, O’Reilly, 2008
Generative art - a practical guid using processing by matt pearson, manning 2011
Algorithms for Visual Design Using the Processing Language by Kostas Terzidis, Wiley 2009
More than 40,000 years ago, our Neanderthal predecessors invented the first music instruments from simple objects around them (bones and stones, sticks and skins…). Nowadays, we use complicated softwares which make it “easier” to create music. But some of us still long for the Stone Age simplicity of noise!
Between 5-9 March, students of the EKA will learn to make their own primitive noise synthesizers with visiting artist Derek Holzer. Each instrument is a tiny world of its own, using simple analog computers in combination with found materials, feedback, sensors and audio inputs to create a unique sound. Even from the same plan, no two are alike! Tonight we present the fruits of the workshop, with an additional performance by workshop leader Derek Holzer (for DIY electronics, speaker boxes and found objects).
More info: http://macumbista.net/?page_id=497
The Random Film Festival is hosted annually in a randomly selected time and location, picked up by Wikipedia Random Article button and random.org. This year the festival will be held in Anija, Estonia on the 10-11 March.
Tonight, festival programmer Mirkka Maikola (Tallinn) is sharing the inside of how film festival selections are made. Filmmaker/producer Hannaleena Hauru (Helsinki) shares her experiences on discoveries about the international film festival circuit, and what led to the International Random Film Festival - a festival where the film programme is selected randomly amongs the submissions. Join the discussion about film festival policies and more generally - competition in art. The event will be followed by a showcase of some Random Film Festival Films.
http://randomfilmfest.com/
The Random Film Festival is hosted annually in a randomly selected time and location, picked up by Wikipedia Random Article button and random.org. This year the festival will be held in Anija, Estonia on the 10-11 March.
Tonight, Ptarmigan hosts a workshop led by Finnish filmmaker Vappu Tuomisto. The workshop experiments with live music and soundscapes, using short films from the International Random Film Festival 2012. Join us to follow and examine the possibilities and methods of live film music and sound.
Tonight at Kodu we feature live music from Vampire Blues, the duo of Jon Marshall and Jon Collin, both featuring short solo sets and together as Vampire Blues. Additionally, our friend Riho Kall will add to the evening's festivities.
Vampire Blues Loose bracken spindle and warm heady bloodrush for electric guitar and harmonium - like an unearthed tape revealing a long-lost, half-cut jam between Sonny Sharrock and CC Hennix. J Collin of Serfs/Whole Voyald/Winebox Press and J Marshall of Hunter Gracchus/Drapeau Noir/Singing Knives. Long-gone cassettes on Blackest Rainbow and Winebox Press. Forthcoming lp on Blackest Rainbow and cassette on Total Vermin. New cassette on Winebox Press. Riho Kall Riho Kall is a songwriter and Puhkus's guitar player and backing vocalist. His music has a cool feel and is about odd situations. Hyperrealism? Roman Nose 'the solo guise of J Marshall of Hunter Gracchus et al. Using vocals and various free-reed instruments he assembles a bunch of inspired ethno-miniatures that take in the cosmological drones of Herman Nitsch, the glottal euphoria of Ghedalia Tazartes and the kind of dense improvisatory ethno-flux of the Gracchus proper' -- Volcanic Tongue Jon Collin Manchester based ruminative, minimal guitar playing. Reminiscent of John Fahey (electric period) and Loren Mazzacane Connors. Also plays in Serfs and runs the wonderful Winebox Press cassette label.
GFYP variety night returns with our "BEACH PARTY" theme. The night will feature various performances, music, and games around this theme. Bring your swimsuits, beach chairs, and towels!
**Lewis McGuffie Cocktail Class**
Summer's not quite here yet, but it doesn't matter because Lewis's famed cocktail workshop is back and he'll be teaching a lucky crowd how to properly make a Mojito, as well as some variations on the classic recipe and some tips about making the perfect sunny day drink!
**Excerpts of 'Crystal Voyager'**
Legendary underground 1970s surfing documentary, presented in full beach-blast mode, with introduction by 70s film enthusiast (nerd) John W. Fail.
**Puhkus (band)**
If you can't get to the south for a vacation, then the vacation will come to you. Puhkus, from the southern town of Tartu, brings the vibes and voices of 'The Cultural Town of Estonia'. Soft and harsh vocals, guitar and zither, like proper music used to be ... which is a rare thing in these days. Come and enjoy - it's a vacation!
http://www.last.fm/music/Puhkus
**Ptarmigan's first live talk show “GFYP Tonight”**
This guest is a beautiful and strong artist from Tallinn, invited to shed some light into her new real-life 'muscular' project. We will be speaking of visual delights, hard work, flesh and air, oil and watercolours. Also there will be a feat of strenghth, performed on the host of the show... the famous Andra Aaloe.
**DJ TT**
Special guest will play some samba beats, exotic tunes and smooth beach music, tanned muscular young lad in paradise shorts falls into the brightblue swimming pool, girls scream, palm- and christmas trees in soft breeze, coconut falls.
All welcome, bar is open, summer is here.
It's LEAP DAY! Only every four years do we get to enjoy the pleasure of the 29th of February. Let's celebrate by watching some similar odd films. Tonight, Liminal Images will screen films/videos that employ elements of absurdity, humour and randomness.
Associations
Directed by John Smith
UK, 1975
7 minutes. (imdb)
Images from magazines and colour supplements accompany a spoken text taken from ‘Word Associations and Linguistic Theory’ by Herbert H Clark. By using the ambiguities inherent in the English language, Associations sets language against itself. Image and word work together/against each other to destroy/create meaning. -- johnsmithfilms.com
Complexe
Directed by Nobuhiko Ohbayashi
Japan, 1964
14 minutes.
An experimental arthouse short that manages to be thoroughly entertaining while simultaneously poking fun at the pretentiousness of the stereotypical experimental arthouse short. -- KG
Bleu Shut
Directed by Robert Nelson
USA, 1971
33 minutes. (imdb)
Probably the most absurd thing ever created; I've watched this countless times and still find myself struck with amazement at the "fuck it" attitude throughout, the most brilliant use of found footage ever (sorry, Bruce Connor), and the never-ending amusement of the boat game at the centre. Bleu Shut, for me, is not just a product of the (wonderful, iconic, and no longer possible) era, but an artistic call-to-arms. -- Ptarmigan
** intermission **
En Dag i Staden (A Day in Town)
Directed by Pontus Hultén & Hans Nordenström
Sweden, 1956
18 minutes. (link)
A dadaist explosion that starts as a typical Hollywood travelogue of Stockholm and ends in the city's total destruction by fire and dynamite. This is a hilarious anarchist film; made by the then unknown Hulten now director of Stockholm's Museum of Modern Art. In a particularly subversive scene, the fire engine, arriving at a fire, goes up in flames. -- Amos Vogel, Film as a Subversive Art
Runs Good
Directed by Pat O'Neill
USA, 1971
15 minutes. (imdb)
As seen in this film, the surrealist cinema of the 1970s works with tools the original surrealists never dreamed of: solarization, multiple exposures, "artificial" contrast, varying image size, negative color, three-dimensional effects. -- Amos Vogel, Film as a Subversive Art
Teaching a Plant the Alphabet
Directed by John Baldessari
USA, 1974
18 minutes. (link)
“[A] rather perverse exercise in futility,” this tape documents Baldessari’s response to Joseph Beuys’s influential performance, How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare. Baldessari’s approach here is characteristically subtle and ironic, involving ordinary objects and a seemingly banal task. The philosophical underpinnings of Baldessari’s exercise are structuralist theories about the opaque and artificial nature of language as a system of signs. Using a common houseplant to represent nature and instructional flashcards to represent the alphabet, Baldessari ironically illustrates this theorem. That language is the structuring element of the tape—the length of the tape was determined by the number of letters in the alphabet—enforces the connection between language and art, a recurrent theme in Baldessari’s work. -- VDB
Tonight's Sympsiom will be led by Andres Luure, tackling the topic of signs and meanings. The discussion will be in Estonian.
Fermented foods club returns! This is intended to be a monthly event where people will bring fermented foods that they have made to share with each other. Foods can be traditional or nontraditional, but will all involve zymurgy in some form. Just bring something that you have made: sourdough bread, kefir, kim chi, sauerkraut, beer, wine, natto ...
This is purely a social gathering but we can discuss techniques, tips, and most importantly eat eat eat. We will treat Sandor Ellix Katz's WIld Fermentation book as our bible.
Please register and let us know what you'll be bringing!
Fast and Raw is a workshop on sushi making, knife sharpening and sushi eating. During the workshop participants will learn to make Hosomaki, Temaki, Nigiri, and Gunkanmaki sushi with a variety of different traditional (and untraditional) fillings. Those in the class will also learn how to sharpen a knife (bring a knife from home) by using a sharpening stone (because a sharp knife makes your sushi more delicious). For the finale of the class, we will have a large sushi banquet (which you should invite your friends/family to).
Leading the course is Justin Tyler Tate who has a Bachelors degree in Fine Art, a Doctorate in electronics and no qualifications in the field of sushi. He has never been to Japan but people, who have also never been to Japan, regard his sushi as “the best”.
This month's meeting of Fake It Til You Make It will, of course, be a surprise as to what we will make. Last month, cutout animations were made, the result of which is viewable here.
All are welcome! As always, please register to let Justin know you're coming so he can prepare accordingly.
documents/resources