lenahelart

[lenahelart]

[lenahelart]

Oedipus, Told Anew

“No!” - “Yes!” - “Ohh!”

[lenahelart]

A View On Those Who Freed Me From My Self-Incurred Immaturity (Because I Could Not Do So Myself)

“That you will have to do by yourself”, one of them said. “Oh, ok”, I answered and began cleaning the bathroom.

[lenahelart]

Conceptual Piece #2 28.08.16

Vom Unwissen darüber, wo der Regen anfängt und wo er aufhört.

Chopins Regentropfen-Präludium spielen, aber 3 Oktaven nach oben versetzt. Die Töne, die nicht mehr auf die Klaviertastatur fallen, neben dem Klavier in der Luft spielen.

About Not Knowing Where the Rain Starts And Where It Stops.

Play Chopins Raindrop-Prelude, but transposed upwards three octaves. The notes that don’t fall on your keyboard are to be played in the air next to the keyboard.

[lenahelart]

Movie still, from the 1962 film “The Trial”

There is much that could be said about the original character of Leni and her function in the Trial’s universe. She is ambivalent, and blends in with the other characters as you never know what she`s up to. Her kind of sex appeal maybe would only work on a man like Josef K. She smells like pepper, has a bodily defect (she herself is quite proud of) and seems quite childish and clumsy sometimes. Her advantage is to live in a world of Josef K.s. Last thought about her character: She enjoys some kind of jester’s licence, as she is part of the group of people who know at least anything about the trial’s mechanisms but she herself has no active role in these mechanisms. Her freedom results from knowledge without power (I think this is exactly the definition of jester’s licence).

In this scene she seduces Mr. K., who seems to be a willing victim. In parts, we know as little about him as we do know about the Trial’s universe. The clumsy parts follow, but this scene focuses on the “input-Poker-Faces”, the act, the way both of them want to be seen as before the game starts. We see a puzzled look in Josef (who actually stands on the left outside the frame and can only be seen via mirror here), and a superior smile from Leni. The fact that she has to look upwards to see his face just underlines the predatory features of her smile. But as it was said, their relationship is ambivalent. We don’t know who outplays whom.

The first thing she says after the following sex scene in the book (maybe my favourite sex scene ever), is a “next morning sentence” only she could say:

"Here's the key to the door, come whenever you want."

[lenahelart]

Conceptual Piece (28.01.17)

1. Das musikalische Kippbild. 28.01.17 Ein Solokonzert nehmen und so umschreiben, dass der Solist die Orchesterstimme (eine der Orchesterstimmen) seines jeweiligen Instrumentes spielt und die Solostimme von den Orchestermusikern des entsprechenden Instrumentes gespielt wird.

1.1. Werke für die linke Hand durch ein fest gewähltes Verfahren in die rechte setzen.

1.2. Eine Geige mit Bogenhaaren bespannen. Einen Bogen mit Geigenseiten bespannen. Musizieren.

English version:

1. The Musical Tilted Image. 28.01.17 Take a solo concerto and rewrite it that way that the solo musicican plays the orchestral voice of their instrument (or one of its orchestral voices if there are more than one) while the soloists voice is played by the orchestra musicians

1.1. rewrite pieces for left hand so that they are to be played with the right hand via a definite method.

1.2. Restring a violin with bow hair. Restring the bow with violin strings. play music.

[lenahelart]

A semilong time ago I got interested in the concept of music of language. Reasons for that were very personal on the one hand, being that I often got sentences and conversations stuck in my head like catchy tunes. On the other hand there were some aesthetic reasons as well, as I consumed the art and philosophy of new conceptualist Johannes Kreidler and by that got confronted with the philosophy of Harry Lehmann.

In short, one of the aesthetic theories of Lehmann is about the “gehaltsästhetische Wende” (roughly translating as content-aesthetic turn). Its central argument is, that the ressources of new possible sounds wont be the material that is being composed for any longer, as this ressource is theoretically completely developed and therefore not anymore the arena of new ideas. [The idea and the new being heavily crucial terms in european aesthetics]. Therefore, not sound is composed anymore, but content is.

Now, how does this have anything to do with music of language and what Jonny König does here? Language, in musical sence, has at least two composable main facets. One the one hand, its materiality, sound. On the other hand, semantics, that is the content of language. Jonny König here adresses the relation between these two: He offers an insight into the crumbled sound structure of an Edmund Stoiber speech. Now, Jonny’s emphasis on the not really language-melodic or -prosodic features underlines the crumbled semantic structure as well. Thus, Jonny emphasizes on one of the possible relations between language content and language sound: mutual disintegration. And he has to compose sound and sound only, because language itself offers the content.

tl;dr: Music of language is crazy content-asthetic stuff, because language offers content so easily via its relationbuilding between sound and semantics. Weil das ja klar ist...

[lenahelart]

Movie still, from the 1915 movie “Alice in Wonderland”

It’s been an eternity since I watched that movie. I think in this scene (the very beginning of the main plot) she is sad she can’t get through that door and into wonderland. It may seem completely opposed to my central conflict, the loss of Troy, because my utopia lies irretrievably behind me and her utopia just is not available (for the moment at least) but there are similarities. Especially because I have the dream to build up Troy again. Someday, somewhere, with someone. So maybe the ideal worlds for Alice and for me are to become reality again. The crucial difference then may be that I know exactly what Troy looks like, while Alice, at that point in time, has absolutely no concept of Wonderland.

I’m not too sure about who has it better...

[lenahelart]

Alte Männer (18.05.17)

Auf einer Parkbank glückliche alte Männer. Ich, jung, geh vorbei.

[lenahelart]

If You Want to Know How Good I Am In What I’m Doing…

…consider the following:

I made some notes about a paper I was reading.

I noted “The author presents us with the central argument of his paper” (or something likewise)

In the next paragraph the author states: “I will not be concerned with these issues here”

And that, kids, is exactly how good I am in what I’m doing!

[lenahelart]

Only one man ever understood me, and he didn't understand me.

G. W. F. “the W is for wisenheimer” Hegel

[lenahelart]

Movie still, from the 1988 movie “The Unbearable Lightness of Being”.

I did not read the book, nor have I watched the movie til its end; but this scene quite struck a chord in me. I think it is located somewhere around the middlepart of that film (just before it gets all Prague Spring dark) and there is that beautiful chemistry between these two women, who share the bed with the same man. In this scene they photograph each other (naked, as you can see) and there is such a playfulness, such an unbearable lightness to their actions, that I had the urge to capture it in one frame. I still use this frame as my desktop background.

I do like films that center around the theme of the characters relationships and in that I especially like erotic films (though the main feature in that should be the Eros in the relationship, not the bodily one).

[lenahelart]

O komm! o komm, Geliebte! In der Bar/ Verrät der Mixer den geheimsten Tipp./ Und überirdisch, himmlisch steht dein Haar/ Zur Rötlichkeit des Cherry-Brandy-Flip.

Ernst Blass, Abendstimmung

Vor Kurzem sah ich mich mit einigen Freunden der selbstgestellten Aufgabe gegenüber, fröhliche Gedichte aus der Zeit zwischen den beiden Weltkriegen zu finden. Ich denke das hier ist so ein Fall. Wenn es aus der Zeit zwischen den beiden Weltkriegen wäre zumindest. Suchen wir also weiter.

[lenahelart]

Regarding the things and their names...

...there seem to be two general points of view… Some ask what’s in a name, while the others claim that if you can call a thing by its name, you rule over it. You know my name. My story unfolds here. But as empty as views without concepts are and concepts without views, I will have to help you: My name is Lena Hel. By that, I bear the names even of two women that are known for their transformativity, for their twofacedness. The longer you and I know each other, the easier it will be for you to see why. Until then, just call me Lena. Apart from that, I am having a hard time presenting you with any relevant information.

What is it someone like you has to know about someone like me?

[lenahelart]

Bold Theses Monday! It’s a Thing Now.

Welliwelliwell (that alone being a bold thing to say, in best Clockwork Orange manner), Let us start with something easy then: some theses. The judgment on their level of boldness may be entirely yours to draft.

1. Perfection is not a value, but a value of values. perfect misery is as perfect as perfect happiness.

2. Enduring one’s own convictions - that is true strength!

[lenahelart]

Hallo, Wandernde*r! Hello, Traveller*!

Hallo, Wandernde*r!

Wenn Du das hier liest, dann haben die Griechen uns überlistet und wir mussten ins Hinterland fliehen. Dann ist unser schönes Troja gefallen und unsere alten Überzeugungen mit ihm.

Der Kampf mit den Griechen war lang und entbehrungsreich. Und jetzt? Auch jetzt bleibt uns keine Zeit, uns auszuruhen. Wir müssen weitermachen. Es gibt neue, ganz andere Schlachten zu schlagen; aber das Hinterland ist voller Wunder, die es zu entdecken gilt, voll von Musik, die gesungen werden will, Gerüchen, die verzaubern und Erzählungen, die gehört werden wollen.

Und irgendwann, wenn wir uns lang genug durch das Dickicht geschlagen haben, können wir unsere Erinnerungen an die alte Heimat austauschen; was Troja für Dich und was es für mich war. Was wir beide von Hektor und von Paris gelernt haben. Und warum Helena, die echte Helena, wirklich die schönste Frau Trojas war.

Aber nun: Lass uns nach vorne blicken! Und ins Jetzt zurückkehren, ins 2017. Hier, auf diesem Blog findest Du Sound, den ich und andere produziert haben, Du findest Dinge, die mir skurril, lustig und dabei immer auch von quasi tragischem Ernst zu sein scheinen (denn nichts ist komischer als die ernsten Dinge). Du wirst meinen Versuchen lauschen, mit Sprache zu arbeiten, zu spielen, zu… konzeptualisieren?

Denn das wird immer das sein, was mich an Dir begeistert, Deine unbeugsame Art, Konzepte zu ersinnen. Deine Art, Ideen von den Dingen, wie sie sind und wie sie sich zueinander verhalten, mit mir auszutauschen, zu testen, anzugreifen, einzureißen, aufzubauen. Das mag in Form von steilen Thesen geschehen, als Wortspiel, meinetwegen auch als Rapbattle. Du konzeptualisierst. Konzipierst. Konzeptionierst?

Troja ist gefallen. Aber wir leben. Und das heißt, das Hinterland unseres Denkens zu besiedeln.

Hello, traveller*!

When you read this, the Greeks have outwited us and we had to flee to the hinterland. Our beautiful Troy has fallen then and our old beliefs have fallen with it.

Our fight against the Greeks has been long and full of privations. And now? Even now there is no time to rest. We have to carry on. There are new, very different battles to fight; but the hinterland is full of wonders to be discovered, full of music that wants to be sung, fragrances that want to enchant and stories, that want to be listened to.

And some day, when we fought our way through long enough, we can exchange our stories about our old home; what Troy has been for you and for me. What both of us learned from Hector and Paris. And why Helen, the real Helen, really was the most beautiful woman of troy.

But for now: Let us look ahead! And return to now, to 2017. On this Blog, you will find Sound, produced by me and by others, you will find stuff that occurs to me to be especially whimsical, funny and by that always of tragical gravity (because there is nothing more whimsical than the grave things). You will listen to my attempts to work with language, play with it, to… conceptualise with it?

Because that will always be a thing in you that thrills me, your rigid way of making concepts. Your way of testing ideas of the things, how they are and how they are related, your way of exchanging those with me, attack them, break them down and build them up with me. That may happen in form of bold theses, as puns and wordplays, for my part even as rapbattle. You are conceptualising. Concipiring. Conceptionalising? (Yeah, I know, doesn’t really work in english.)

Troy has fallen. But we live. And that means to colonize the hinterland of our thoughts.