In the aftermath of Stalinism, composers and artists in Eastern Europe enjoyed new opportunities to experiment. Recording studios equipped with magnetic tape recorders and, later, synthesisers were established, first in Warsaw in 1957 and then throughout Eastern Europe. New forms of musique concrète and electronic music were produced in these laboratories of sound. The connections between the visual arts and experimental music were closer in the 1960s than perhaps any time before or since. Sound and image combined in artists’ films, happenings and sound installations. While the innovative and ambitious nature of their creations is clear, what is far less certain is the benefits that experimental art and music brought to the communist project.

In this talk, David Crowley, one of the curators of Sounding The Body Electric: Experiments In Art And Music In Eastern Europe 1957-1984, an exhibition currently on display at East London’s Calvert 22 gallery, will explore the politics of experimentation in Eastern Europe during the 1960s and 1970s. The talk will focus on the sound works of Krzysztof Wodiczko, Milan Knížák, Zygmunt Krauze, Dóra Maurer, Zoltán Jeney, the Bosch + Bosch Group and others, and will be illustrated with audio and film clips.

David Crowley runs the Critical Writing in Art & Design MA at the Royal College of Art. He has a long interest in the arts in Eastern Europe under communist rule.

Sounding The Body Electric runs at Calvert 22 till 25 August.

Calvert 22 website

Frames from Kalah, a film by Dora Maurer, Andras Klausz and Zoltan Jeney, 1980:


Józef Robakowski "Prostokąt Dynamiczny"


Milan Knížák "Broken Music"


Zygmunt Krauze "Stone Music"


The Bosch + Bosch Group "O-pus"

The Wire Salon is a monthly series of events, hosted by The Wire magazine, dedicated to the fine art and practice of thinking and talking about music. The events consist of talks, panel discussions, film screenings and DJ sets.

www.thewire.co.uk