the_oaten_flute.mid (2022- - 2023)
experimental pastoral opera, sound installation
the_oaten_flute.mid is a pastoral opera installation inspired by concepts of the mountainous idyll of the Swiss Alps and one of its most famous inhabitants, the fictitious character “Heidi.” It explore the relationships between ruralism and nationalism, questioning common-held idealizations of a pastoral lifestyle by investigating how it forms identity, and touching upon the recent resurgence of völkisch—ethno-nationalist ideologies in Germany.
The installational version of bucolica.exe is reduced to two goat robots walking and singing a duet in a petting zoo environment open for the spectators to enter.
installation views: Deichtorhallen, Sammlung Falckenber (Hamburg), Galerie Conradi (Hamburg), Kunstverein Siegen (Siegen)
robotic goats, electronics, metal fence, cushions, carpet
voices: Lucia Margarita Bauer, Fabian Young, Max Pross, Lola Goeller, Rosemary Hardy, Maria Markina, Joseph Ostendorf, Edis Ludwig, Timotheus Maas, Lukas Anton, Kaoko Amano, Johann Leutgeb
For the_oaten_flute.mid Tintin Patrone employed artificial intelligence to analyze a diverse range of source materials, including madrigals, pastoral poems, and folk songs. These served as the initial inspiration for crafting entirely new libretti. The machine's task was to distill the essence and atmosphere of the alpine and shepherd idyll from this wealth of primary texts, resulting in remarkably eerie text compositions.
Reflecting the collaborative nature of authorship between the artist and the AI in the creation of the libretto, the vocal interpretation of these texts is a product of synergy between a collective of pre-recorded singers, a robotic goat, and a hologram. These elements act as vocal intermediaries, lending a performative dimension to the recordings.
