Nedeoločljivost TuZdajšnosti // Indeterminacy NowHere
Published on June 16th, 2026Cirkulacija 2, solstice saturday June 20th 2026 ob 8PM
In developing the conceptual framework for their live performance, Colin and Marko initially considered John Cage’s Indeterminacy (1958–59) as a productive point of reference. By bringing together independently structured spoken texts and sonic events, Cage’s work allowed meaning to emerge through chance encounters, simultaneity, and the listener’s active engagement.
Cage’s use of chance operations and indeterminate procedures offered an appealing model for exploring unpredictability, attentive listening, and the production of a singular, unrepeatable experience. However, a closer examination of Indeterminacy raised questions about the contemporary relevance of its methods. In Cage’s realization, he and David Tudor performed independently from separate spaces, unable to hear one another, while the audience experienced the contingent convergence of their actions.
Transposing such conditions into the present context proved problematic. Strategies of physical or mediated separation inevitably evoke the experience of pandemic-era isolation, while both musicians ultimately remain situated within the same performance space. This raises a central question: how can a live duo performance sustain principles of independence without denying the reality of co-presence?
Ultimately, complete non-relation appears impossible. Regardless of intention, the simple fact of sharing the same time and space generates the possibility of unforeseen connections. From this perspective, indeterminacy need not function as a prescribed method but can instead emerge as a condition of the performance itself, arising through the unpredictable interactions between performers, audience, and environment.
Marko Košnik at Slovenska kinoteka, preparing for solo live manipulation of sound and imagery; “Five synaesthesias for sound and moving images”, 3 March 2000.
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Colin Black at Alte Schmiede in Vienna; “Soundprints as Memory”: relationship between sound, place, and remembrance, recorded for the broadcast at Ö1-Kunstradio; 18 June 2017.
Colin Black is an internationally recognized sound artist. In 2023, he received the Prix Phonurgia Nova Awards, in 2015 the New York Festivals Awards, and in 2003 the Prix Italia Award. Black has received numerous national and international commissions to create innovative works for installation, performance, and broadcast in Australia, the United States, and across Europe. He earned his PhD at the University of Sydney and is currently an Associate Lecturer at Southern Cross University and a Visiting Researcher at the University of Nova Gorica.
Marko Košnik is poly-media artist involved in a broad spectrum of research in the field of music and acoustics since early 80’s, composing for dance and theatre pieces of renown choreographers and performers. Since 90’s he is incorporating music into own projects, from sound installations, radio works and interactive environments, to improvised setups, with a devotion for development of techniques and interfaces for simultaneous handling of live electroacoustic music.
