Synchronator now on dvd

Synchronator is a video and audio research project by Gert-Jan Prins and Bas van Koolwijk in an attempt to use a combination of current digital and analogue means to make more use of the characteristic visual qualities of audio signals.

Since the early years of video art, works have been made which do not actually produce a standard TV signal waveform and therefore cannot be directly recorded. Some are based primarily upon magnetic distortion of the normal TV scan pattern, others utilise a Cathode Ray Tube as if it were an oscilloscope screen.

Gert-Jan Prins and Bas van Koolwijk’s Synchronator project continues a lineage of experimentation originally embarked upon by the likes of Nam June Paik and the Vasulka’s. Both artists teamed up after a shared need to transcend the technical limitations of the video signal and through a shared aesthetic.

Accessing the inner working of their audiovisual equipment, they crosswire sound and image to produce a glitchy synaesthetic montage - sometimes with tantalizing hints at representation as seen in the online videos.

By sharing their technical knowledge Prins and Van Koolwijk set out to tackle the problems concerning the recording of complicated, merged and distorted video and audio signals with the aim of having those signals accepted by current video equipment.

The duo is about to release as well a commercial version of the “Synchronator” box, a small piece of electronic gear, with audio inputs and video output, translating audio signals straight into PAL or NTSC videosignals.
The original recordings on this DVD were produced with the SYNCHRONATOR device for PAL video.

Gert-Jan Prins
Prins has created an electronic system with circuits from radio, TV and transmitter techniques, which produces feedback sounds and TV signals. He regularly collaborates with E-RAX, The Flirts with Cor Fuhler, and MIMEO.

Bas van Koolwijk
Van Koolwijk's video can be seen as an aggressive attack on the illusion of video itself. Through a rigourous and formalistic approach, Van Koolwijk exposes the face of the machine which lives behind the often-placating veil of the televised image.