In 1968 Hungarian artist听Tam谩s Szentj贸by听painted bands of sulphur on the sides of a common brick to approximate the dials and switches of a portable radio. 听He had been inspired by stories of Czechoslovak teenagers diverting the attention of the Warsaw Pact forces that occupied the country in August 1968 by carrying bricks wrapped in newspaper pressed to their ears as if they were transistor radios.
Silent,听Szentj贸by鈥檚听radio invited the listener to think about what could not be heard on state radio.听In this talk, David Crowley accepts听this invitation by exploring听the art of noise of Eastern Europe in the years before and after 1968 including the experimental radio programmes created in Warsaw and Brno by composers and artists inspired by John Cage; the sounds of听Aktual, 迟丑别听proto-punk听group formed by Fluxus artist听Milan Kn铆啪谩k听in 1967, and The Primitives, the Czech beat group whose immersive performances were designed by artist Zorka S谩glov谩; and the investigations of noise conducted by Krzysztof Wodiczko in a series of 鈥榠nstruments鈥 and performances in Warsaw.
David Crowley teaches at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin. His books include听Warsaw听(2003) and three volumes co-edited with Susan Reid,听Socialism and Style. Material Culture in Post-war Eastern Europe听(2000);听Socialist Spaces. Sites of Everyday Life in the Eastern Bloc听(2003); and听Pleasures in Socialism: Leisure and Luxury in the Eastern Bloc听(2010). 听Crowley also curates exhibitions including听鈥楥old War Modern鈥櫶齛t the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2008鈥9 (with Jane Pavitt),听鈥楽ounding听the Body Electric. Experiments in听Art and Music in Eastern Europe鈥櫶齛t Muzeum Sztuki, 艁贸d藕, 2012 and Calvert 22, London, 2013, and 鈥楴otes from Underground. Art and Alternative Music in Eastern Europe 1968-1994鈥櫶齛t Muzeum Sztuki, 艁贸d藕, 2018 and Akademie der Kunst,听Berlin, 2018 (both with Daniel Muzyczuk).