In 1968 Hungarian artist聽Tam谩s Szentj贸by聽painted bands of sulphur on the sides of a common brick to approximate the dials and switches of a portable radio. 聽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,聽Szentj贸by鈥檚聽radio invited the listener to think about what could not be heard on state radio.聽In this talk, David Crowley accepts聽this invitation by exploring聽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聽Aktual, the聽proto-punk聽group formed by Fluxus artist聽Milan Kn铆啪谩k聽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聽Warsaw聽(2003) and three volumes co-edited with Susan Reid,聽Socialism and Style. Material Culture in Post-war Eastern Europe聽(2000);聽Socialist Spaces. Sites of Everyday Life in the Eastern Bloc聽(2003); and聽Pleasures in Socialism: Leisure and Luxury in the Eastern Bloc聽(2010). 聽Crowley also curates exhibitions including聽鈥楥old War Modern鈥櫬燼t the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2008鈥9 (with Jane Pavitt),聽鈥楽ounding聽the Body Electric. Experiments in聽Art and Music in Eastern Europe鈥櫬燼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鈥櫬燼t Muzeum Sztuki, 艁贸d藕, 2018 and Akademie der Kunst,聽Berlin, 2018 (both with Daniel Muzyczuk).