JUAN MUÑOZ'S WORKS FOR RADIO
Will it Be a Likeness
Curated by Juan Muñoz
Of all the works produced by Muñoz, “Will it Be a Likeness” is probably the most theatrical, as shown by the elements we see on stage, the way in which a series of different actions coexist simultaneously and the dramatic implications that arise from this. It is also the least musical of the radio works we have included in this selection. The sound accompanying this piece is performed live through the actions of a foley artist who does his job in full view of the audience. Once again, that which should be absent from the stage takes on an exaggerated presence.
On stage, the writer John Berger reads his own homonymous text while at the same time a translator offers the audience another version of Berger’s words. The machinery becomes visible once again, and this time the sound does too, because rather than reaching receivers through the air waves, it rides on the words of Berger. Three beautiful young women appear and sit on three chairs located at the front of the stage. A magician makes them disappear while the author continues reading his text.
On completion of the reading, and therefore the work, the lights are gradually switched off and a new light source reveals a figure standing before the audience, in the proscenium, moving his lips as though he were pronouncing inaudible words.
related episodes
A Registered Patent: A Drummer inside a Rotating Box
Muñoz went back to patents he had found during the days he'd spent reading at the New York Public Library. The texts of the patents talk about materials and construction techniques and forms that can prevent echo inside built spaces.
A Man in a Room, Gambling
This program deals with card tricks, which are old favorites on magicians’ repertoires but also used on the streets.
Building for Music
In "Building for Music", Juan Muñoz, in collaboration with Alberto Iglesias, examines the ways in which architecture influences music and composition.