Apologia Records
Labor Camp Object Series
Minneapolis, 2010
Altered Edison discs, hand drawn custom labels
by Piotr Szyhalski
"Apologia Records" is a set of 12 Labor Camp Objects developed in 2010 as a central component of the installation project entitled "Apologia". These artifacts are a material expression of a new approach to one of the fundamental ideas of the Labor Camp: exploration of structural and conceptual relationships between history and sound.
Early Edison Diamond Discs originally manufactured in 1920's are altered with unique one-of-a-kind, hand drawn labels designed and printed at the Labor Camp. For the "Apologia" installation, these records are presented in sealed display cases (see Fig. 25), ostensibly making it impossible to hear their actual audio recording. While the label designs become the main point of access to the content, the physicality of the record objects gently reminds us of the presence of ideas beyond our immediate reach. Like history, these objects remain present, yet at the same time impenetrable.
The pregnant silence of this work is further underscored by multiple references to the seminal "Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus" by Ludwig Wittgenstein (see numeric references on each label to specific statements from "Tractatus" e.g. 2.03 on Fig. 13, 6.432 and 6.4312 on Fig. 14 etc.) Thus, each label becomes a visual device connecting a vast array of ideas. Utilizing symbolic and metaphorical graphic vocabulary, multiple languages (English, German, Chinese, Russian, French, Polish and Latin), historical concepts and events, as well as philosophical ideas. References to "extreme historical phenomena" are made across the series (e.g. hours of impact during the 9/11 attacks featured on the TME record: see Fig. 03, or "Anus Mundi" label invoking the infamous euphemism for Auschwitz: see Fig. 06), painting a complex picture of the world. Imagining the music emerging from this amalgamation of facts and ideas, "Apologia" quietly capitulates in the face of unsayable.
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FULL VIEW : |
Fig. 01 : Apologia Records : Massenmusik : sides A & B : |
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Fig. 02 : Apologia Records : Qualia : sides A & B : |
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Fig. 03 : Apologia Records : TME (Twins, Mirrors, Echoes) : sides A & B : |
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Fig. 04 : Apologia Records : Muzyka / Historia : sides A & B : |
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Fig. 05 : Apologia Records : Mörderhöhle : sides A & B : |
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Fig. 06 : Apologia Records : Anus Mundi : sides A & B : |
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Fig. 07 : Apologia Records : Eco Nuclei : sides A & B : |
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Fig. 08 : Apologia Records : Acoustic Evidence : sides A & B : |
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Fig. 09 : Apologia Records : Mikrokosmos : sides A & B : |
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Fig. 10 : Apologia Records : Mountains of Knives : sides A & B : |
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Fig. 11 : Apologia Records : Teleskop i Mikroskop : sides A & B : |
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Fig. 12 : Apologia Records : Copulae : sides A & B : |
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DETAIL VIEW : |
Fig. 13 : Apologia Records : Massenmusik : detail : sides A & B :
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Fig. 14 : Apologia Records : Qualia : detail : sides A & B :
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Fig. 15 : Apologia Records : TME (Twins, Mirrors, Echoes) : detail : sides A & B :
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Fig. 16 : Apologia Records : Muzyka / Historia : detail : sides A & B :
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Fig. 17 : Apologia Records : Mörderhöhle : detail : sides A & B :
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Fig. 18 : Apologia Records : Anus Mundi : detail : sides A & B :
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Fig. 19 : Apologia Records : Eco Nuclei : detail : sides A & B :
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Fig. 20 : Apologia Records : Acoustic Evidence : detail : sides A & B :
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Fig. 21 : Apologia Records : Mikrokosmos : detail : sides A & B :
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Fig. 22 : Apologia Records : Mountains of Knives : detail : sides A & B :
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Fig. 23 : Apologia Records : Teleskop i Mikroskop : detail : sides A & B :
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Fig. 24 : Apologia Records : Copulae : detail : sides A & B :
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INSTALLATION VIEW : |
Fig. 25 : Apologia Records on display as part of the "Apologia" multimedia installation in Minneapolis, 2010 :
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Additional materials:
Apologia installation documentation.
Tractatus : reading from Wittgenstein Labor Camp Orchestra song cycle.
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