back to the overview I deutschsprachige Version des Textes In her project “Animated soundscape from walks around Berlin”, Polish artist Zuzanna Odolczyk explores the animated representation of words and sounds from Berlin’s urban space. At the beginning of the project, the artist went on walks through the city and observed a wide variety of noises and sounds: Cars, conversations, animals, doors, music, children and much more. She visualised the sounds she perceived and collected on a “sound map” in the form of a city map. Her aim is to use the sounds to present the beauty and character of Berlin. For her, Berlin’s beauty is characterised by different aspects: The architecture, the people interacting with each other – talking, drinking, making music, celebrating, enjoying the weather – and the nature. Zuzanna Odolczyk tries to capture all these elements in the form of sounds and translate them into onomatopoeia – into expressions that mimetically reproduce the sound of an event. Examples of this are sounds such as schschschsch for the whispering of the wind or the sound of waves, tock tock for the knocking on wood or woof woof for the barking of a dog. A word only becomes onomatopoeic when a certain meaning is ascribed to it. Verbal sounds are therefore not onomatopoeic in themselves, but only in relation to a relevant aspect of meaning. Video: YES, AND… productions GmbH & Co. KG, Zuzanna Odolczyk Emotions and actions can be intensified through the use of noises and sounds. For example, Odolczyk uses the sound of rapid footsteps on the streets of Berlin to create a rushed atmosphere, as can be found in many places in the city centre.. Although onomatopoeia and sound symbolism are versatile, there are limits and challenges to their use. For example, they can be perceived differently in different languages and cultures, as they vary from culture to culture and may not be understood or perceived in the same way in one language as in another. In the case of Odolczyk’s work however, her distinctive illustrations create a high recognition effect of what is heard. In linguistics, onomatopoeias are primarily analysed in terms of their phonetic character and semantic features. Zuzanna Odolczyk picks up on these in sound and image and combines them in a short animated film. With regard to the filmic realisation, the artist decided to record the onomatopoeias with her own voice. However, the focus was not on the artist’s voice, but on the soundscape of the city. She assigned each of the sounds collected to an onomatopoeia and recorded them. On the pictorial level, she then created illustrations of people, moving vehicles and objects or even activities that evoke these sounds in the viewer. The artist’s sketches were done after visiting the locations. Zuzanna Odolczyk’s interests centre on digital art, especially 2D animation. After completing a degree in architecture and urban planning in Warsaw, she began her Masters in Character Animation at the University of the Arts London. Her particular passion is drawing. She completed her master’s degree in directing and animation with the 2D animated film “Into the night”. Her work was inspired by the myth about goddess Inanna presented in Polish writer’s Olga Tokarczuk’s book. She discovered her enthusiasm for animated films through the films of Hayao Miyazaki and Irish Cartoon Saloon, among others. In contrast to the well-known Disney films, she was fascinated by the unique style of the Irish studio. In the years that followed, Zuzanna Odolczyk worked as an animator and clean-up artist with numerous studios in the UK. She also spent a year in Cambodia, where she worked as lead animator for Phare Creative Studio. Text: Thora Danker Photo: Sebastian Kläbsch/berlinARTcore Photo: Sebastian Kläbsch/berlinARTcore Photo: Sebastian Kläbsch/berlinARTcore Photo: Zuzanna Odolczyk Photo: Sebastian Kläbsch/berlinARTcore Photo: Sebastian Kläbsch/berlinARTcore Photo: Sebastian Kläbsch/berlinARTcore Zuzanna Odolczyk Zuzanna Odolczyk is a Polish artist working with digital hand-drawn 2D animation. After a period of architectural studies, she started her adventure with animation at Central Saint Martins UAL where she did her master’s degree in character animation and made short animated films for the Old Operating Theatre and the English National Opera. Over the years, Zuzanna worked in various studios across UK as character animator and clean-up artist. She spent a year in Cambodia as a lead animator for Phare Creative Studio. Instagram: @zuza.joann, @zuza.joan Website: https://zuzajoan.tumblr.com/
