Karito at the UN

an audiosculpture by david barratt

at the UN Visitors' Lobby Oct 15 - Nov 19 2008

North East Gallery

Visitors Lobby

United Nations Visitors Entrance

First Avenue at 46th Street

Subway: number 4,5,6 or 7 trains to Grand Central Station; walk on 42nd Street to First Avenue.

Buses: M15, M27, M42, or M104.

Karito at the United Nations is presented by Louis XIII de Rémy Martin

in cooperation with the United Nations Department of Public Information

What is Karito?

Karito is an audio sculpture made from musical interpretations of the 192 national anthems of the member states of the United Nations layered upon one another, projected simultaneously from multiple sound sources. The position of the listener determines which instrument comes to the fore and which becomes background. The music, unlike most composed pieces, does not have a beginning, middle or end and is not constant. The random selection of instruments and themes from the various sound sources makes it impossible to predict what will happen next.

The random juxtaposition of the various themes creates a new piece, the structure and tone of which are determined by the listener's relative position within the audio sculpture at any particular time.

No two listeners will experience the same piece in the same way.

What is the idea driving the work?

The individual anthems work together to create a greater whole.

Some of the anthems may be considered very sophisticated, others very simple. Often, what might be thought of as a dull melody is transformed into something extraordinary simply by juxtopositon to another .

Occasional dissonances do occur, but invariably time passes and something beautiful and unexpected takes place a few bars later.

On a personal level when I listen to the piece, questions occur:

What is a nation?

What is the relationship between myself and the rest of mankind?

What is the function of identity?

I am sure you will have your own questions every bit as personal as mine. 

This musical structure of bringing individual parts together as a new whole, to be experienced from different perspectives, echoes what I believe to be at the core of the United Nations or any other international endeavor.

Where does the name Karito come from? 

It is the Esperanto word meaning “love of one’s neighbor”

 How is it done?

The individual anthems are first recorded in the same key by violin, viola, cello, bass, trumpet, guitar and piano. The individual themes are then mixed separately to create 1,536 individual music files. The mixed themes are burnt onto several MP3 players, set to "random shuffle mode." Thus, any theme could be playing against any other at any given moment.

What  is  the  writing  on  the  wall?

Lyrics from the various anthems are displayed in a completely random order. The arrangement of these words sometimes creates a visual representation of the words themselves. The overall effect of the typography creates a continuity and flow that seems to have no beginning, middle or end...much like a circle. Without these words, the walls would be blank.

The circular form was created to identify all 192 member states of the United Nations. The form itself is made up 3 sets of 64 rings, equaling 192. Once again, reinforcing the overall theme ­— a circle alone is symbolic and a thing of beauty, however when united with many others something even more beautiful and powerful is created.