LyrArkestra+ Jan Steklík
LyrArkestra+ is an experimental art collective which centers their work upon the use of a unique Lyra 8 synthesizer. In this case, the synthesizer provides a new concept for interpretation of graphic scores created by primarily Czech and Slovak authors. These scores are not only elevated on an auditory level by means of modern electronic instruments, but also on an artistic level organically enhanced through the use of new and old media. Many of the often decades-old artworks are revived in a new form and adapted for a contemporary audience. After their first era dedicated to adaptations of Milan Adamčiak’s works, LyrArkestra+ choose to work with graphic scores of the fundamentally visual artist Jan Steklík (1938–2017).
The international ensemble of this essentially fluid project does not have a permanent team. The current members are: Tomáš Knoflíček (Gurun Gurun) from Ostrava, Michal Zbořil (IQ+1, B4) from Přerov, Daniel Jakeš (Jasnovidec, Koroze) from High Tatras, Ken Ganfield (PIO, The MoND) from Ames, Martin Nábělek (Boyse) from Banská Bystrica, and Petr Vrba (Poisonous Frequencies, Banausoi) from Prague. One thing uniting all of the above-mentioned creators is their work with the “organismic” Lyra 8 synthesizer famous for its nontraditional build. The way in which Lyra modules interact resembles a lively conversation. The main aim of the collective is to explore the possibilities of combining the specifics of the instrument with the unconventional code of graphic scores which lends itself to various forms of musical interpretation. The electronic orchestra finds an equal partner in a trio of visual artists Cristina Maldonado (MX), Keya Singh (IN), and Isa Juchniewicz (PL), who translate graphic scores into dynamic visual installations in space.
The performance LyrArkestra+ Jan Steklík was created in collaboration with Terén and the Brno House of Arts, an institution with a long-term focus on the presentation of Steklík’s works. In 2018, the Brno House of Arts curated a retrospective exhibition presenting Jan Steklík as one of the prominent Czech artists of the second half of the 20th century. The exhibition showed a full spectrum of his works, which had not been fully researched nor appreciated up to that point, with their interdisciplinary overlaps - from his informalist beginnings and innovative conceptual drawing methods to action and land art projects. His works are characterized by a sensitive approach to materials, reflecting his structuralist beginnings, as well as a keen interest in the creative process, performative potential, and transient nature of metaphors. There is a specific tenderness and poetics typical of his works seasoned with absurdist humor which makes his art appealing to a wide audience.