KUNSTRADIO

This radio work was done by the Belgrade artist Arsenije Jovanovic in remembrance of the mass protests in Belgrade in which the people stood up and showed their opposition to a power-hungry and corrupt government.

“They are acoustic reminiscences,” the artist says. The protesters in Belgrade's streets were well aware of how to apply the acoustic as a “medium” of their power. “They used everything that produced noise or sound,” Jovanovic says, “plates and all kinds of kitchen utensils, furniture parts, radios, bells, whistles, car sirens, every musical instrument available. They used their own voices and those of their pets. These noises and sounds could be heard from balconies and windows, from rooftops and terraces, from cars and bicycles. They were everywhere: on the sidewalks and in the trees. All these sounds and noises produced a unique acoustic surge that washed over the city, silencing it at the same time, so that nothing else could be heard – especially not the propagandistic programs broadcast by the state-run radio and television station.”

A. Jovanovic calls it “Paradoxisms of Noise”: sound against sound. Radio against radio. Medium against medium. It was the outbreak of an acoustic war, a resounding nightmare with something futuristic about it. It sounded – as the artist put it – like an acoustic and musical experiment with thousands of participants.

“White City” gives its listeners impressions of the large-scale politico-acoustic event that attracted the attention of the entire world. It also tells of the fate of a protesting tubaist, a man who Jovanovic knows had never played a tuba before: “He had no musical schooling whatsoever; the instrument just happened to be in his house. He took part in the general “performance” from his balcony, which looked out on one of the biggest streets in the city, and was so happy to be virtually standing “on the podium” of the “greatest musical event of all time.” Unfortunately, his heart wasn't in very good condition. In the middle of the “concert he suffered a heart attack. I am told that on his deathbed he asked to be buried with his instrument.” Jovanovic gives the tuba the name “Euphony” – though he admits he's not really sure about what kind – since the term “euphony” refers in this piece to the role of the tuba player as part of a huge sound orchestra.

The artist calls “White City” “Singidunum” – the old Celtic or Roman name for Belgrade. In this way Jovanovic makes reference to the universal metaphoric meaning of “White City”; the concrete territorial and political sense shouldn't be overly stressed.

Arsenije Jovanovic invites his listeners to participate actively during the broadcast of “White City” – despite the asynchronicity. You can play whatever you like and whatever the neighbors are willing to tolerate: kitchen utensils, furniture, and “whatever you can get your hands on if it serves the purpose – you can even simultaneously play another radio that is tuned to a different station....”

As to whether tuba players should take out their instruments during the program – Arsenije Jovanovic prefers to leave that up to the individual listener.