Michele Spanghero, "Ad lib." (2017) @ Biennale Némo, Paris (2019)
Michele Spanghero, "Ad lib." (2017)
Michele Spanghero, "Ad lib." (2017) detail of the automatic pulmonary ventilator
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Ad lib.
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The sound sculpture "Ad lib." (2017) combines a medical machine for automatic pulmonary ventilation with a few organ pipes that play a musical chord, a fragment of music (a reference to the "German Requiem" op.45 by Johannes Brahms) frozen to the constant rhythm of the automatic breath.
The title of the work, the abbreviation of the Latin expression “ad libitum”, literally means “at one's pleasure” or “as you desire" and is generally used to express the freedom of a person to act according to their own judgment in a given context.
As a direction in sheet music, “ad lib.” indicates that the performer can use their discretion to interpret a given passage of the score, e.g. allowing certain bars of the score to be repeated at will without restraint.
The action of this artificial organ raises ethical questions about the discretion and responsibility involved in this mechanical requiem, a metaphor for a limit that men delegate to technology.
The title of the work, the abbreviation of the Latin expression “ad libitum”, literally means “at one's pleasure” or “as you desire" and is generally used to express the freedom of a person to act according to their own judgment in a given context.
As a direction in sheet music, “ad lib.” indicates that the performer can use their discretion to interpret a given passage of the score, e.g. allowing certain bars of the score to be repeated at will without restraint.
The action of this artificial organ raises ethical questions about the discretion and responsibility involved in this mechanical requiem, a metaphor for a limit that men delegate to technology.
