“Speeches of the unheard” 25 min. 16 sec. broadcasted on September 8th, 2021.
Listen this work at https://beuys2021.de/de/media/podcasts or Spotify
In this episode we listen to the sound art work “speeches of the unheard” by the thai artist som supaparinya. For this work she translated the speeches and poems of thai poets as well as political and human rights activists into the song of the birds native to thailand; or in “the voices of birds and crows,” as it is called in a thai saying. This phrase describes the devaluation of the words of others as meaningless – just like the voices of the many political activists in thailand, which are ignored and even silenced by the authorities.
The actual wording of the speeches and poems used as well as further information on som supaparinya’s work “speeches of the unheard” can be found here: https://bit.ly/3lB50et
This show is a production by the goethe institute in cooperation with beuys 2021.
Reference of speeches:
ซะการีย์ยา อมตยา Zakariya Amataya (a poet), ณัฐวุฒิ ใสยเกื้อ Nattawut Saikua (a politician), ไม้หนึ่ง ก.กุนที Maineung Kor Kunthee (a poet and political activist), อานนท์ นําภา Arnon Nampa (a lawer and human right activist)
* All speeches spoke by the authors except the poem by Maineung Kor Kunthee read by ส้ม ศุภปริญญา Som Supaparinya.
Credits:
Sound editing, programming and mastering: ddmy studio
Sound recording: Mike Nelson, Greg Irving, Marc Anderson, Peter Ericsson, Thijs Fijen, Somkiat Pakapinyo(Chai), Bernard BOUSQUET, Ding Li Yong, Albert Noorlander, and Aladdin.
(the sound of bird calls random 1543 files of 30 provinces in Thailand [central, north, south, east, west and northeastern part of Thailand])
The common name of bird which the program makes a random selection in the final work are as follows:
Arctic Warbler, Asian Barred Owlet, Asian Koel, Black-crested Bulbul, Black-winged Stilt, Blue-eared Barbet, Blue-winged Pitta, Brown Hawk-Owl, Brown Prinia, Collared Falconet, Common Myna, Common Redshank, Dark-necked Tailorbird, Dusky Warbler, Eurasian, Hoopoe, Fire-breasted Flowerpecker, Golden-bellied Gerygone, Great Barbet, Greater Coucal, Greater Flameback, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Green-legged Partridge, Green-tailed Sunbird, Large Scimitar Babbler, Large-billed Crow, Lesser Yellownape, Malaysian Pied Fantail, Mangrove Pitta, Moustached Barbet, Paddyfield Pipit, Puff-throated Babbler, Red-breasted Parakeet, Red-wattled Lapwing, Richard’s Pipit, Ruby-cheeked, Sunbird, Rufous-backed Sibia, Sarus Crane, Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker, Silver-eared Laughingthrush, Sooty-headed Bulbul, Spot-breasted Parrotbill, Spotted Dove, Spotted Owlet, Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo, Striated Grassbird, Stripe-throated Bulbul, White-gorgeted Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied Prinia, Yellow-browed Warbler, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Zebra Dove
About the earth speaks podcast program
what does joseph beuys tell us today? how will joseph beuys be rated in 2021? how are his ideas on art, capitalism, democracy and climate received in different cultural areas? are his ideas compromised by his self-mythologizing? does it even play a role for today’s generation of artists? 10 voices from well-known artists, scientists and writers from germany as well as activists, djs, artists from 14 different countries around the world offer answers to these questions from both a german and an international perspective. the new podcast episodes appear weekly. you can listen to this podcast wherever there are good podcasts, for example on spotify, apple podcasts, google podcasts, amazon music or deezer. and there you can also subscribe to us.
the production of the podcast is a cooperation between “beuys2021” under the curatorial direction of catherine nichols (for the german episodes) and the goethe-institut (for the international episodes). the first two episodes were created in cooperation with the wdr.
About beuysradio
is everyone an artist? are trees smarter than people? is plastic a synonym for the human? are we the revolution? do we live in a sham democracy? are the days of capitalism numbered? joseph beuys asked many of the questions that concern us most today. beuysradio examines who beuys was, what exactly he said, how it affects us today and why his ideas and his person are still discussed so controversially to this day. beuysradio takes up the theses and questions and presents them anew in the here and now. the free online audio program for critical encounter with joseph beuys presents 100 voices about himself, 21 podcasts on his most current questions, numerous reports on the festival program “beuys 2021” on the occasion of his 100th birthday, a series of playlists made with the music he was listening to,
credits
overall conception and management by catherine nichols
curatorial assistance and coordination pia witzmann
Collaboration with eugen blume, anne-marie franz, inga nake, bianca quasebarth, pia witzmann
production the podcast producers (tina küchenmeister, claudius nießen, tobias rohe, andreas popella, annegret richter, rabea schloz) with heartfelt thanks to everyone who, with their participation, your voices, your music and your engagement with joseph beuys in interviews, discussions and podcasts, have realized a comprehensive and exciting program.
For reference:
Introduction script:
Welcome to this new episode of “Die Erde spricht / The Earth is Speaking”. My name is Annegret Richter and I am very happy that you are with me again!
In this episode we will be listening to the sound artwork “Voices of the Unheard” by the Thai artist Som Supaparinya. For this piece, the Bangkok-based artist has translated the speeches and poems of Thai poets and human rights activists into the songs of birds native to Thailand. Why did she do this and why does she call this work “Voices of the Unheard”? The artist herself puts it this way:
“In his speech at Stanford University in 1967, Martin Luther King said: “But in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard. What is it that America has failed to hear?” A sentence that matches with a Thai idiom. In English it translates in “The voices of birds an crows”, and it is used to devaluate the words of others as meaningless or not worthy of attention – just like the voices of the many political activists in Thailand that are ignored and even silenced by the authorities. This is why in this piece I translated speeches by Thai citizens, who participated in or even led the protests seeking democracy and justice in Thailand since 1955, into the actual voices of birds and crows. In my view, this is what a podcast by Joseph Beuys would sound like, if he would have been born to be a Thai person in this era.”
Outtroduction script:
– The poems “Home” and “Narration” by the Poet Haji Sulong, who fought for the rights of the ethnic minority of the Jawi community in southern Thailand. He disappeared on the 14th of August 2015.
– A speech by Nattawut Saikua, the secretary-general and spokesman of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship and Member of Parliament. After the coup d’état in 2014, he was held in military detention for seven days.
– The poem “Immortal, Stubborn Grass” by Maineung Kor Kunthee, who was shot dead on the 23rd April 2014, one month after the coup d’état. His case was not prosecuted.
– The “Poem to the Court” by human rights activist, lawyer, pro-democracy activist and political activist Anon Nampa. In September 2020 he called publicly on the monarchy to subordinate its power to that of parliament and the law. After that he was arrested several times.