Twitter, 2022
Crickets and their kin sang long before the advent of flowering plants, and their sounds were likely the principal element of the animal soundscape from 300 to 150 million years ago.
These ancient sounds, too, received a boost when flowers evolved. The “true crickets,” the Gryllidae, that now sing from meadows, forests, and lawns worldwide appeared 100 million years ago in the midst of the diversification of flowering plants.
When we hear crickets, katydids, grasshoppers, and cicadas—the insect species that dominate the range audible to human ears in many habitats— we receive plant energies turned to sound by insects.
This relationship is both of the moment, fueled by the plants’ sugars and amino acids, and ancient, the result of the stimulus that flowering plants gave for the evolutionary diversification of these insect groups.
Twitter is a performative installation created especially for the premises of the Centre for Contemporary Art Dox @doxprague and the International Music Festival Prague Spring 2022.
Authors Aleš Čermák (@ab.hpp), Matouš Hejl Performer/Guide Jakub Gottwald Photos Petra Hájská (Prague Spring Festival)
The performative installation was created with the financial support of the Prague Spring International Music Festival 2022.
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