Installation view of Sinfonia Torinese at Guido Costa Project, Turin, 2004 (photo: Maria Bruni). Collection Fondazione Morra Greco, Naple
Installation view of Sinfonia Torinese, from the northeast end of the space at Guido Costa Project, Turin, 2004 (photo: Maria Bruni)
Installation view of Sinfonia Torinese from the northwest end of the space at Guido Costa Project, Turin, 2004 (photo: Maria Bruni)
The production facility of Sinfonia Torinese, The Peristaltic Pump, The Still, and The Labyrinth of Herbal Infusions.
Detail of The Still
Detail of The Labyrinth of Herbal Infusions.
The sirens Lanius excubitor and Cynopica cyanus preparing to sing.
The first performance of Sinfonia Torinese at Guido Costa Projects, 24 Via Mazzini, Turin, 21 September 2004. Conductor Dalmazio Vignali.Photo: Francesco Nonio.
Cinemascopia .2004.Precision optical mechanism concealed within a bottle of Carpano’s Punt e Mes. Unique work, with printed labels and operating manual. See Books
Movie of Sinfonia Torinese. Camera: Francesco Nonino. Sound recording: Andrea Costa.
Prelude series for Sinfonia Torinese (Bird in Bell jar edition) 2005. NEEDS NEW CAPTION
Sinfonia Torinese (print) Christine Burgin. See Editions
9 - 12
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ABOUT SINFONIA TORIENSE (2003 - 2004)
Sinfonia Torinese is a homage to the Piedmontese city of Turin in which the local beverage Punt e Mes playes a central role.
Manufactured by Carpano, Punt e Mes is an old and respected Torinese aperitif, which in this installation serves as the catalytic fuel. Several of the aperitif's secret herbal constituents were identified by chromatography, and these were used to establish the images of the lush foliage depicted on a large folding screen. This seven-paneled screen has twenty separate engravings intricately commingled to form one picturesque view. (The original etchings were among the first images of these NewWorld plants.)
Mounted on this screen are fourteen migratory songbirds that originate in the same locales as the various plants, and which fly to northern Italy each year to sing and mate. Sinfonia Torinese employs a rare Italian automatic Racca piano to play a score from the silent movie Cabiria (dir. Giovanni Pastrone, 1914). When the score is played, the birds sing through minute whistles mounted in their beaks; the whistles are air-powered and regulated by the Peristaltic Pump.
The Still extracts pure alcohol from the Punt e Mes, which then trickles to, and sensitizes, the Pump, thus sensitizing the Pump. The alcohol then travels to the piano where the conductor determines when a performance may commence. Another factor determining the installation’s operation are the thermal sensors placed in the performance area which regulate the distribution of various herbal essences by the Pump,creating the air pressure required for the birds’ whistles. As visitors walk through the space they constantly modify the conditions monitored by the sensors,thus ensuring that every performance is unique.
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