The Homes of Latung La La

European Tour:

Els domicilis de Latung La La

David Ymbernon

January-November 2013

Music

Don Simón & Telefunken

INTRODUCTION

In January/February 2005, David Ymbernon gave a performance at his home of Latung La La i la cuinera embarassada (Latung La La and the Pregnant Cook), for which he wrote the text Entre l’art plàstic i l’art escènic (Between the plastic arts and the performing arts). At the time, Elisabet (his partner) was pregnant with Dadà, who was born that very month of February 2005 (now seven years old) but is not the couple's only child, as his sister Daida was born in 2007 (now four years old). Then, in May/June 2010, joined by the whole family, David Ymbernon performed, also at their home, the visual work (scenic poetry and paratheater) Latung La La i la llum emergent (Latung La La and the Emerging Light, which was included in the "Barcelona Poesia" and "Festival Panorama" event programs. These two works performed at his apartment became magical, extraordinary and unique.

Now, with The Homes of Latung La La, the idea is a tour in homes around Europe.

THE IDEA

Although I think that the success depends on a wide range of perceptions that are often contradictory. I must say that the last play staged at home, Latung La La and the Emerging Light, became a hit. Not a mass success, of course, but I'd simply say that it went very well.

That led me to the idea of a tour of homes in Barcelona, but then I immediately thought it would be better to tour throughout Catalonia. Ultimately, I took the idea even further: why not expand it to homes around Europe!

THE TOUR

The tour starts in Barcelona and ends in Rome, with stops along the way in Madrid, Lisbon, Porto, Bilbao, Nîmes, Nantes, Paris, London, Edinburgh, Brussels, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Munich, Zurich, Bern, Milan and Venice.

THE PRODUCTION

The Homes of Latung La La is based on the continuation of my work in performing arts and visual arts, a gradual and continuous work. It is in the same vein as the last production performed at home (Latung La La and the Emerging Light) and builds a new one, adding new ideas and leaving others aside, designed to be adaptable to each home on the tour.

I use materials and objects to create visual poetry landscapes that become evocative, dreamlike situations, in order to hypnotize the spectators and carry them off to a world of fantasy and magic as evocative and abstract as possible.

Hence, what occurs on stage leaves tangible meaning behind to pursue the fanciful idea of turning everyday elements into something totally unique, while using only common items, such as an egg with wings that goes flying by, a string of orange-colored objects that becomes a parade led by doll-majorettes, or a remote-controlled tractor towing a fish.

NUMBER OF SPECTATORS

The appropriate number of spectators per performance, based on the turnout for the last home production (Latung La La and the Emerging Light), is 15-20, because for shows like these it is very important for spectators to see everything up close and also because it is someone's home. Obviously, the number of spectators can vary depending on the uniqueness and capacity of each house.

MUSIC

I would like to have live music by Don Simón y Telefunken. We worked together on the show El fil de Latung La La (Latung La La’s Thread) (Grec Festival, Barcelona, 2010) and I felt it was a memorable success. Don Simón y Telefunken consists of: Iván, Prudi, Germi and Bobi. The group was formed in the late 1990s between Valls and Tarragona, gradually changing its members over the years to arrive at the current lineup. Its style melds the strangest sounds of experimental music with fantastic accidents. The band's instruments range from standard rock fare to sound objects found in toy stores or bins. They have performed throughout Spain and abroad, including festivals of varying artistic themes. They have an album titled Música de vanguarderia and have co-written another with the French musician Klimperei (released in the United States, France and Japan). They frequently accompany poets such as Henry Cassasses and Ajo, and some of the group's members also belong to the bands of Paul Riba and Pascal Comelade. Iván recently took part in the production titled Somiatruites by Albert Pla and Comelade.

TRAVEL PLANS: WHO AND HOW

We plan to travel with the whole family (Elisabet, Dadà, Daida and me) in a 6-person camper van (equipped with kitchen and sleeping area). We will travel with two musicians (Iván and Prudi, members of the group Don Simón y Telefunken).

All 6 of us will stay in the homes where we be performing. We will stay at each home for one week (8 days, to be precise); of these 8 days, 2 are for setting up, 5 for performances and 1 for packing up. Afterwards, we will have 4 days off to use freely according to the circumstances of each location; we will then travel to our next engagement. The calculations for travel between cities allow sufficient time to get from one city to the next. The "days off" will be used, among other things, to attend to the children's schoolwork and carry out publicity-related tasks (updating the blog, press, correspondence, etc.).

HOSPITALITY IN EXCHANGE FOR ART (PERFORMANCE HOUSES)

This exchange of hospitality for art consists of the following: the host agreeing to present this show at their home will accommodate the family and the two musicians (a total of six people — four adults and two children, aged 5 and 8 years) — at the same home for 8 days (food not included, of course: we will bring our own; we will make arrangements with each host for this); in return, we will give the owner part of the proceeds from ticket sales along with a piece of my artwork expressly made for this purpose. It will be an original work of art measuring 60x60cm, framed, which will form part of a series of 23 works corresponding to the 23 houses in the 23 cities where we will be performing. This piece of art will be worth €1,500, according to the Joan Prats-Artgràfic Gallery of Barcelona, where I regularly exhibit my work.

It should also be taken into account — as far as I see it — that this will have a highly positive social impact for the host, for having opened their home to many people; and if the person is an artist, this activity may also serve to promote their work.

The host will be responsible for making the list of audience members. Tickets will be reserved through the email and/or phone of the host, who will organize the 15-20 people per function during the 5 days of performances. Meanwhile, we will take care of advertising, press and promotion by sending a press kit to major media outlets in each country through a communications agency, as mentioned above. The host will also help us to promote it among their contacts and friends via email.

TICKET PRICE

Admission is free (voluntary), as it has been for the recent productions we've done at our home. Based on these experiences, we can safely assume that an average of approximately €10 per person will be collected.

These proceeds will be shared with the host of each house as follows: 50% will be for the Ymbernon Company, to cover extra travel expenses; and 50% will be for the host, as a contribution to household expenses.

DOCUMENTARY

The trip itself is a rich visual work of art in many ways, encompassing: family (children's education), art (different reactions of places and cultures to the same staged production), travel (scenery, food, seasons), etc. For this reason, I think it is an extraordinary opportunity to make a documentary that captures and reflects the situations and sensations that arise while traveling. Specifically, I mean to create a work of art in an audiovisual format.

CHILDREN & SCHOOL

Elisabet and I take care of and are far more concerned about guiding the processes of our children's lives (harmonizing emotion, thought and practice), than we are about educating them in levels of gradual intelligence; we won't revere systems or doctrines backed by good objective results. We respond to them by marveling at their talent and charm, and alongside them we explore the path of art (our natural path) which brings us enjoyment and draws us together.

Life, art, this connection with them, is something that to me falls somewhere between normal and extraordinary. It's like being a beacon for them to use, shining light on the terrain and being their companion, illuminating but not trying to indicate the destination.

Respecting them as children, bringing their feelings in line with ours (which is not smaller), for example, is one important factor; letting them play a role as prominent and relevant as ours, such as in a joint project (like this one), fosters a learning capacity through which they can acquire truly enlightening experiences.

Thus, we believe Dadà (now 7 years old, and will be 8 when we will travel) and Daida (now 4 years old, and will be 5 when we travel) will gain a very valuable experience in this tour.

We will take care of teaching them the material that would correspond to their scholastic level so they can be with the same classmates when they go back to school (we will coordinate this with their school, Els Xiprers de Barcelona).

COMPLETE TOUR INFO

115 PERFORMANCES

23 CITIES

13 COUNTRIES (Spain, Portugal, France, UK, Belgium, The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Czech Republic , Austria, Switzerland, Italy)

314 DAYS ON TOUR (January 21-December 4, 2013)

12,808 KILOMETERS

EQUIPMENT

SCENOGRAPHY

COMPANYIA DAVID YMBERNON

Elisabet Augé Castelló

Tàrrega, 1972

Elisabet (the Catalan form of Elisabeth) is a Hebrew and Biblical name and means 'she who bears a divine promise'. According to the science of names, Elisabet expresses herself through comprehension and grows through tasks requiring meditation, inspiration or immersion in the depths of one’s being and the essence of things, and this makes her a leader in situations requiring methods of organized effort.

Augé is a surname of French origin, from the Poitou-Charentes region. Auge (without the accent) comes from the Arab auj, 'elevation', and it is said in Catalan that something is “en auge” when it is at its apogee.

Castelló comes from the Latin castellione, which is a diminutive of castellum, 'castle', and therefore means 'little castle'.

David Ymbernon Grau

Igualada, 1972

The name, David, comes from the Hebrew and means ‘beloved’, ‘friend’. According to the science of names, David is associated with a strong personality and with a pronounced vitality and energy that make him impetuous and a bit dominant. His life will move in different directions according to his desire to learn and change, and the color that suites him is orange.

Ymbernon is a novelesque surname; it probably originates from the Scottish town of Inverness, which in Gaelic is called Inbhir Nis and which is related to the famous Loch Ness of the Nessie legend.

“Grau” (degree in Catalan) refers to ‘each of the divisions of a thermometer or the intervals of a progression.’ It comes from the Germanic name Gairoald, which means ‘spear-ruler.’

Dadà Ymbernon Augé

Barcelona, 2005

Dadà does not mean anything. One of the nicest definitions that can be given to dadà is precisely to say that it is indefinable.

DADA is life without carpet-slippers or parallels

Tristan Tzara

Dadaism was an intellectual and artistic movement from 1916 to 1925 with a radical spirit that changed the course of contemporary art. It was of a nihilist, anarchic and irrational nature and questioned all conventions, ideologies, art and politics, always with a touch of humor.

Apparently, the name Dada was chosen at random, a dictionary being arbitrarily opened to the word dada; this action was based on the desire to return to childlike values. Absurdity, randomness and the factor of chance mark this movement.

Daida Ymbernon Augé

Barcelona, 2007

Daida was the name of a Guanche princess from La Palma (Canary Islands) and means 'newly-born, lactating lamb'.

The Guanches were the original inhabitants of the Canary Islands before the Spanish conquest from 1402 to 1496, and their origins are still a mystery. The most likely theory is that the Guanches descended from the Amazigh peoples of northern Africa and settled the islands between the 5th Century BC and 100 AD.

They sustained long combat against different invaders who committed all sorts of atrocities against them; the Spanish conquerors took nearly a century to overcome the tough resistance of the Guanches. The women were so courageous in combat that the conquerors spoke of the heroism of the amazons of the island of La Palma, among other stories of heroic deeds that have become legends.

DON SIMÓN Y TELEFUNKEN

Don Simón y Telefunken

Valls-Tarragona, 1998

Don Simón y Telefunken comes from the rhetoric rhyme with Simon and Garfunkel, a highly successful folk-rock duo (1957-1971) that was especially popular during the early 1960s. Paul Simon and Arthur Garfunkel grew up in the neighborhood of Queens in New York, were childhood friends and have received several Grammys.

Don Simón is a brand name. It debuted in 1980 with the first wine distributed in paper packaging; a practical and affordable wine with low production costs that revolutionized the market. Despite its initial rejection by the traditional sector, Don Simón has become the top-selling Spanish wine in the world.

Telefunken is a manufacturer of radio and television equipment, founded in Germany in 1903. Walter Bruch developed the PAL color television system at Telefunken. The Telefunken TV is a classic from the early '80s.

STAGED WORK
"Ymbernon, a scenographic and visual poet, uses objects to share his overflowing imagination with us, ever capable of illustrating something that goes beyond dreams. The color orange, by which we recognize him instantly, is his calling card (an obsession with orange and chromatic balance in space partly shape his painter's eye).

He avoids association with the concrete and escapes, as a poet that invents, with neither foot on the ground. Fleeing from the canon and from rules, he strives to represent an overflowing inwardness, despite appearing to speak to us about unrealities, only to end up describing moments of high poetic tension, unusual encounters that lead back to their scenographic narrative.

Ymbernon does not, however, come from the realms of dramatic composition, visual though his work may seem, or the absurd, but from the poetization of objects, the display of poetic images, drawing plot elements from the environment to build his own worlds, while said elements refer back to the real world." (Josep Miquel Garcia)

• TV3 special report (Ànima, Cultura a domicili, 05-Jul-2010)
• BTV special report (A visit to the Ymbernon Augé Foundation Apartment, 4-Nov-2010)
• DOWNLOAD FILE The Homes of Latung La La