Witteveen+Bos Art+Technology Award 2014

How can a printed material “sound”? This unanswered question has probably resounded many times in the mind of Geert-Jan Hobijn, founder of the experimental label Staalplaat and then of the artistic group Staalplaat Soundsystem. His career was first embedded in the label’s releases, with a unique production, fully realised in the integration of both sounds and packaging as a single concept usually directed by Hobijn himself (Hobijn once said that “production is not democratic”). It was also realised in the workshops, performances and exhibitions of the group involving an horizontal, often enthusiastic, audience with no specific training, able to produce sounds from consumer electronics, radios, turntables and various (found) materials. This is not a definitive monograph, but the catalogue of a well deserved award: The Witteveen+Bos Art+Technology Award. With a perfect introduction by Douglas Kahn and an essay by Jorinde Seijdel, this ‘catalogue’ perfectly embodies Hobijn’s spirit. It has been enclosed in a cardboard ‘cover,’ with a small electronic instrument that reacts to light on one side, and on the other a single 7″ with locked grooves that can be played manually with a glued needle, or with a turntable. This printed material can, then, “sound,” answering our initial question. And it can sound on its own, not as a commercial, useless gadget, but as a perfectly coherent work, playfully and consistently integrating the aural into the visual standards of print.

This release consists of a book, a record player, a 7" single and a small electronic sound device.
The 48-page book shows some of Hobijns work through several photos, an introduction by Douglas Kahn, and an essay by Jorinde Seijdel.
The 7" single contains 20 locked grooves on each side that you can play manually using the needle attached to the bookcover or using a regular turntable. The locked grooves on the a-side are taken from the Yokomono loop records and the locked grooves on the b-side are from Yokomono 02 (empty ) so you can scratch them and creat your own rhythms.
The electronic sound device is an instrument that can be played by moving your fingers across the light-sensitive sensor.
credits
released January 27, 2021