KPFA-FM Music Dept. ➔ Radio Event: No. 14: Armenia Gardenia

Analog Audio

Event Type

Intermedia and Visual Arts

Origin

KPFA

Identifier

RE.1971.03.22.c2

Program Series

Radio Event

Program Length

31 min

Dates

1971-03-22 | broadcast
| 1971-03-22 | created

Description

"Armenia Gardenia" by Charles Amirkhanian, was the 14th program in the groundbreaking Radio Event series, in which audience reactions were incorporated into a live KPFA radio broadcast. This work utilizes short pre-recorded sound events, such as snatches of music or talking, that were then played over the air interspersed with long periods of silence. Amirkhanian then waited for listeners to call into the station to inquire as to the nature of the broadcast in progress. These calls were recorded and then broadcast along with the rest of the sound events, leading to an, at time hilarious, interaction between the shows creators at KPFA and its intended audience. Ingenious and funny, this show is one of the better examples of the sort of genre defying programing that characterized KPFA.

Genres

Interactive Art

Subjects

Participatory art
Interactive art
Audience participation radio programs

Acknowledgment

Funding for the preservation of this program made possible through a grant by the GRAMMY Foundation.

Related places

Berkeley (Calif.) (was recorded at)
Berkeley (Calif.) (was broadcast at)

Related Entities

KPFA (Radio station : Berkeley, Calif.)
Amirkhanian, Charles