and so it begins! thoughts on the The White Cube Remix Opening.

Photo: Rolf Gerstlauer


The White Cube Remix opened at 7:30 p.m. on 17 December 2009 at the Ram Galleri in Oslo, Norway. The sound installation serves as part of the celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Museum. The first event of the evening was the showing of the video for "The Mackerel Song", by Anchor Mejans and St. Paul. Kristine Fresvig, the gallery acting manager, began with an introduction. She presented mixter St. Paul, who had ridden the train in from Stockholm, with a Akvavit, in symbolic thanks to all the mixters.

Exhibit curator Rolf Gerstlauer then introduced the exhibit. He explained about the White Cube in art and in architecture, as a mental construct which the exhibit explores. The anniversary exhibit aims to "explode" this white cube. The sound installation by the mixters was part of this process.

A series of video interviews with the mixters ensued. Snowflake and Spinningmerkaba, from San Diego, California, in the USA, are not only mixters but also affiliated with Artisteh Media, the new owners of the ccMixter operations. They discussed the excitement of the ccMixter community.

The video then went to Gurdonark, in his law office in Garland, Texas, in the USA, who explained the concept of the White Cube Remix, of creative commons sharing and of the nature of the pieces.

Finally, a video link with Sackjo22 was made, in which she further explained the project, and concluded with a live reading of her poem "The White Cube".

The RAM Galleri then started the small mp3 player for which Sackjo22 had created the playlist and Gurdonark had loaded with the songs and transmitted on to Oslo. The recording of the poem began, and then the mixters' remixes began to play. The audience listened. The music plays on.

Gurdonark says "The experience of seeing the RAM Galleri via skype video-link as this event unfolded was among the great satisfactions of my artistic life. The hard work by the Rolf Gerstlauer and the museum personnel, as well as Artistech Media, showed through in everything in the opening which was a fascinating remote look into a vibrant gallery space. I sometimes say that I write music for daydreams. The opening was like the most pleasant daydream imaginable, made real. When Sackjo22's poem began to play in the gallery, the first tremors within the cube began. I am not sure if the foundations of the cube are shaken, but I am certain that the foundations of my imagination and sense of possibility are strengthened beyond all disrepair".

Sackjo22 says: "Our intention with this project was to bring an international community of artists into the gallery space as an explosive force. As the mixes came into ccMixter, the mixters' creative energy was apparent, but we had no idea, until the opening, how truly powerful we are as a community. When the music started playing at the opening, I saw via the webcam, the gallery visitors'rapt attention to the sound -- our sound -- and I did not know whether to hold my breath or to breathe -- as that moment was so full of attention and receptiveness to what The White Cube Remix brought to RAM Galleri that I was overwhelmed by what this event suggested. Through technology, we connected to each other in an unexpectedly intimate way, so that boundaries of space and time had been shattered."