Author Information
Monika Karwaszewska, Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk, PolandAbstract
The Untold Story of Gilbert’ is an intermedial project examining the process of creation, embodiment, and interpretation of Gilbert, a ten meters long wooden whale skeleton constructed by the Polish artist Olgierd Chmielewski. The work functions simultaneously as a kinetic sculpture, an experimental sound instrument, and a performative presence. The project adopts an interdisciplinary perspective, positioning Gilbert at the intersection of visual and performing arts, sound studies, and audience participation.
The musical dimension of the work consists of an experimental soundscape generated by twelve wooden pipes (based on C overtones), played by an organist using twelve manual levers and traditionally operated bellows. During the performance, Gilbert “swims” through space its kinetic movements and musical improvisation merge into a unified artistic experience.
The presentation will include documentation of the live performance, scenic actions, improvisations on the prototype organ-like instrument, and the creative process, accompanied by critical commentary. The analysis of the work is framed by soundscape theory (R. Murray Schafer), performance theories addressing space and relational movement (Richard Schechner, Erika Fischer-Lichte), and intermedial relationships examined through Dick Higgins’ framework of intermedia. Additionally, spectral analysis of the sound signals produced by the instrument and structural analysis of the musical work, emerging and transforming before the audience during the performance, will be conducted.
The presentation demonstrates that the performance can serve not only as a metaphorical journey but also as a laboratory for investigating intermedial relationships between sound, movement, and space.
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