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(26.06.12) American avant-garde artists created interactive telecommunications installation in VIVACOM Art Hall

The work is part of the exhibition of the Water Tower Art Fest at the Telephone Palace

Sofia, June 26, 2012 - By Friday, June 27, VIVACOM Art Hall is one of the main locations of the International Festival of Contemporary Art "Water Tower". Main focus of the exhibition at the Telephone Palace is the avant-garde installation of Gasman Max and Mara Goldwyn from SOFAR Channel. The work is inspired by the history of telecommunications during communism and is housed in two darkened rooms at the art space of the telecom. The two Americans, living in the capital of underground culture Berlin, assembled the interactive installation, after a week of collecting suitable objects and obsolete telecommunications equipment in the Telecom palace building.

With the installation, called "SOCHATA - The SOFAR Channel Telegraph Agency", the two artists experiment with new models of communication. Visitors become listeners of unintelligible sounds, designed to awaken intuitive and individual interpretation and response. Max Mara explained that through their installation they will try to return back the enthusiasm into the modern magic, called "telecommunications".

The exhibition in VIVACOM Art Hall includes some twenty works of Bulgarian and international artists, including Andy Brody (England), Vanessa Dawes (Ireland), Irene Anton (Germany), Maria Guven (Greece), Matthew Martin (USA), Ronnie Ben -Ari (Israel), Bulgarians Georgi Yamaliev, Irina Georgieva, Iskra Nikolova, Hristo Kolev, Kalin Plugchiev and others. The International Festival envisages also a number of discussions, performances, workshops and permanent art installations in its program in VIVACOM Art Hall.

Water Tower Art Festival is a major cultural event, turning five key locations in Sofia into places of meetings and exchange of experiences, ideas, and concepts in the field of contemporary art. The motto of this year's festival is "Follow the white rabbit" and for the opening a huge inflatable rabbit is installed on the terrace in front of VIVACOM Art Hall. Inspired by "Alice in Wonderland", the motto illustrates the inquisitiveness and the courage of the human nature. Water Tower Art Festival will try to satisfy those of its "needs" with nine-day program covering various fields of art. All events are with free admission.

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