ballroom
music–light installation
by Kaija Saariaho, Hilda Kozári and Esa Vesmanen
9–21 December 1997
Ballroom, a sound–light installation by Hilda Kozári and Esa Vesmanen gives a new atmosphere for the red marble-covered hall of the Ludwig Museum, using light, movement and Kaija Saariaho’s Cloud-music.
The centre of the installation is the ball or planet which hangs like a pendulum from 11 meters height. The ball, made of metal, magnetically follows the changes of music. The loudspeakers play special music for the visitors walking around, generated by computer. The program is written by composer Kaija Saaraiho. The visitors of ballroom (a draft model of a cosmic space) can step into a virtual space from the real one.
Simultaneous with the vernissage, people in the streets of Helsinki can also see ballroom, as one of the events of the 3rd Valon Voimat Festival (Helsinki Festival of the Light). The image is projected onto the glass facade of Kiasma (Museum of Contemporary Art). C3 – Center for Culture and Communication helped to make a live Internet connection, so the project can be seen directly through the Net, too.
Hilda Kozári, artist (Budapest) and Esa Vesmanen, interior designer (Helsinki) are working together since 1995. They show light-installations usually. Kaija Saariaho (Paris-Helsinki) is one of the most famous composers of Finland. Her works are innovative, not only by sound, but using new techniques for composing. So she won a prize for example at Ars Electronica Festival in Linz.
