Artwork

The Cry from the Earth

Jorge Orta, 1994

Ref: 00006
Catalogued: pp93-95 Transparence: the hidden face of light, Editions Jean Michel Place 1997; Lucy + Jorge Orta. Light Works, Black Dog Publishing, 2010, ISBN 978-1-907317-04-0
Exhibition history: By invitation of Asahi Television Corporation Jorge Orta was invited to create a light work inside the crater of Aso Volcano, Kyshu. Broadcasted infront of 30 million television spectators for the special New Years Eve art program
Concept: Over six months of intensive fax correspondence with the producers, Orta narrowed down the choice of locations for his new project to some of Japan's most mythical locations: the temples and gardens of Kyoto, the Hiroshima memorial, natural beauty spots on the island of Kiti-Kyushu, the grand castle of the Dynasty, including even the Mount Fuji. After which, Jorge and Lucy Orta embarked on a unique cultural expedition throughout Japan to research the cultural imprints of the possible sites and analyse the technical implications for the eventual Luminographic concert. Sulphur clouds and eruptions held back the project 3 months before the final concert took place. The graphic score skimmed the flanks of 2km crater, the largest volcano in activity in the world. A graphic score composed of hand drawn pictograms from the cultural imprint of the location and electronic signals recorded from the natural sounds determines the pace of the image sequence projected inside the vast crater. Experimenting Xanakis sound conversion technologies; the images projected generate the sound, just as the sound generates the image. The graphic analysis of an eruption diffracts on the surface of the volcanic rock. This project was in remembrance of the victims of Hiroshima.

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