Monday, 4 March 2013
Behind the scenes at the launch of Fractured Heart Interactive… National Film and Sound Archive in Canberra on the 15th February 2013.
Our team came in from everywhere to be present – Luku from Adelaide, Craig and Trevor from Sydney, and Cindi from Perth via Adelaide. Craig had arrived a day or so before to check on the installation, which was running perfectly. We met Michael Loebenstein (director of the NFSA) and Wally in the morning of the launch day, when he arrived coming straight from Sydney.
The day then began fairly quietly with interviews in the hushed gallery at the National Film and Sound Archive. Naturally everyone wanted to ask Gotye about his success at the Grammy’s that week, Cindi Drennan was interviewed about the making of Fractured Heart and Michael Loebenstein spoke about the exhibition of this piece and its relevance and significance to the NFSA collection.
Later events included NFSA Connect at Questacon, where Gotye spoke to students via a live audiovisual conference, in conversation about how he creates his form of digital music and some of the techniques that can be used. This amazing facility at Questacon is a full AV studio that is used to link up students with science-oriented presentations, so this was quite a new and exciting topic for the organisations involved.
Finally the moment everyone had been waiting for was the meet and greet from the steps of the National Film and Sound Archive. Looking through the glass doors revealed just how many fans there were in Canberra ready to say hello to Gotye and to check out the Fractured Heart sculptures, but he is used to it! Cindi however was pretty nervous – not that anyone could tell. After a few polite speeches by Wally De Backer, Michael Loebenstein and Cindi Drennan, and introductions from the steps, the group and audience moved en masse into the Gallery where Wally and Cindi gave a demonstration of Fractured Heart.
In the evening Gotye presented a selection of animations and Visual Music in the Arc Cinema followed by a presentation of illuminart’s playful prototype interactive instruments (Light Rhythm Plays) in the courtyard.
From our illuminarty perspective the day was a program jam packed with interviews, demonstrations and photographs of Fractured Heart, and at the end a relaxed evening at the National Film and Sound Archive. It was a fantastic way to launch the sculpture at NFSA, and it continues to be very very popular! If you visit, send us a photo of you playing it.
Photo credits: Darren Weinert and Brooke Shannon for NFSA, and Cindi Drennan and Craig Laurendet for illuminart. (for the official public photos and info you can visit the NFSA Flickr web site here).