T H E S O M N I L O Q U Y I N S T I T U T E [project cuckoo] Our Project Cuckoo took place in Villa Alckmaer, the exhibitions building of the Center for Visual Arts in Rotterdam, starting from September 1997 until the building was vacated in the end of December 1998 to be demolished by its neighbor, the museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. A bigger cuckoo with drastic measures.Project Cuckoo consisted of several interventions and interferences in the institute and its administration. Though voluntarily hosting a cuckoo in your nest is asking for problems (a feature not really foreseen by the Villa's employees), but after a good night sleep most differences and mutual irritations have been resolved in an atmosphere of common sense and good humour.Some of our Cuckoo interventions / interferences were: AS TIME GOES BY[installation]TSIF 970727CUCK.tune The tune from the song 'As time goes by' started to play every time someone took some toilet paper from the roll.Accidently thrown away by cleaners WORLDPRESENTIME[installation]TSIF 970925CUCK.time Alarm clock with time zones and a built in scroll with a quotation from Shakespeare's Hamlet ("Some must watch while some must sleep.") on computer desk. CUCKOO CARD[announcement]TSIF 980225CUCK134.card print: 2000printer: De Nieuwe Grafischecolor: Black210 x 150 mm WAITING ROOM[installation]TSIF 971018CUCK.inst Installation of a waiting room in Villa Alckmaer's 'pink room', with:- Waiting room sign- No smoking sign- Wall paper Black Forest Rustique- Vinyl Parquette on the floor- Clock lined with Black Forest Rustique- The Somniloquy Institute Birthday Calendar (blank)- Dali reproduction melting watch- Magazines Time, Tiempo, HP/De Tijd- Rubik puzzle with clocks- Flower arrangement with Big Ben company congrats (R.M.)971204CUCK56 (announcement of closure for visitors) and 971204INWR125 (an inventory list from TSIF of the Waiting Room) were put on the Waiting Room door which had been closed and covered with a non-transparant film without authorization or knowledge on our behalf. The no smoking sign was thrown away and the waiting room sign was taken home by one of the emplyees without knowledge or consent. See: Somnilaw. |persbericht| CUCKOO SONAGRAM[installation]TSIF 980418CUCK.sona A cuckoo sonagram cutout from black auto-stick film.Placed on the Villa Alckmaer bay window (in the koekoek)During sound exhibition JUST ABOUT NOW with F.de Waard (Meterkast), C.Nicolai (POL), Ryoji Ikeda ([o(zero) degrees] installation), P.Duimelinks ([m3]), F.Lopez (Untitled#78), and R.Meelkop (HOME HERE). CUCKOO BOX[installation]TSIF 980328CUCK.box - 18 mm plywood box with 2 holes holding a cassette player, L47 x W16 x H20 cm, camouflage colour- Endless tape (15 min.) with a cuckoo calls every 5 minutes- Movement detectorPlaced in the Villa Alckmaer bay window (in the koekoek) MEHR NICHT[graphic design / P.A.W.]TSIF 981111MENI.grap Graphic manipulation of a photograph (by B. Goedewagen) of the north wall of Villa Alckmaer. The art work by the STILL institute (representing Goethe's last words:) 'MEHR LICHT' has been changed into 'MEHR NICHT', as suggested by the author Thomas Bernard in his book Der Stimmenimitator. After the permission by STILL representative Mr. Albert Kliest (981102STIL339) the photograph was placed in Villa Alckmaer's last invitation.A similar proposition, to literally change the STILL art work into 'MEHR NICHT', was made in 1997 (970718CUCK1310) but was rejected because it was suggested that the intervention could be an act of vandalism of a work of art.We want to thank our special friend Mrs. M. Neddam for her excellent knowledge of the literature of Thomas Bernard.We want to thank Mr. AE Kliest for his kind cooperation and generosity.A complaint was addressed to Mr. B. Oppenheimer, graphic designer of the invitation, who boldly took the credits for this photograph by putting his name under it. | interventions/interferences | | home | The Somniloquy InstituteP.O. Box 253213001 HH Rotterdam - The Netherlandscuckoo@xs4all.nl
[project cuckoo]
Project Cuckoo consisted of several interventions and interferences in the institute and its administration. Though voluntarily hosting a cuckoo in your nest is asking for problems (a feature not really foreseen by the Villa's employees), but after a good night sleep most differences and mutual irritations have been resolved in an atmosphere of common sense and good humour.
Some of our Cuckoo interventions / interferences were:
Accidently thrown away by cleaners
971204CUCK56 (announcement of closure for visitors) and 971204INWR125 (an inventory list from TSIF of the Waiting Room) were put on the Waiting Room door which had been closed and covered with a non-transparant film without authorization or knowledge on our behalf. The no smoking sign was thrown away and the waiting room sign was taken home by one of the emplyees without knowledge or consent. See: Somnilaw.
Placed on the Villa Alckmaer bay window (in the koekoek)During sound exhibition JUST ABOUT NOW with F.de Waard (Meterkast), C.Nicolai (POL), Ryoji Ikeda ([o(zero) degrees] installation), P.Duimelinks ([m3]), F.Lopez (Untitled#78), and R.Meelkop (HOME HERE).
During sound exhibition JUST ABOUT NOW with F.de Waard (Meterkast), C.Nicolai (POL), Ryoji Ikeda ([o(zero) degrees] installation), P.Duimelinks ([m3]), F.Lopez (Untitled#78), and R.Meelkop (HOME HERE).
Placed in the Villa Alckmaer bay window (in the koekoek)
A similar proposition, to literally change the STILL art work into 'MEHR NICHT', was made in 1997 (970718CUCK1310) but was rejected because it was suggested that the intervention could be an act of vandalism of a work of art.We want to thank our special friend Mrs. M. Neddam for her excellent knowledge of the literature of Thomas Bernard.We want to thank Mr. AE Kliest for his kind cooperation and generosity.A complaint was addressed to Mr. B. Oppenheimer, graphic designer of the invitation, who boldly took the credits for this photograph by putting his name under it.