| Katya Sander | e@katyasander.net |
| TIFO (begivenhet) / TIFO (event) 2007 Site-specific collaboration with Rosenborg-fans, intervention at Lerkendal Stadion, Trondheim. Video. Produced for Generator, Trondheim, Norway. 2007. (Catalogue) In collaboration with fans from the local football (soccer) club, TIFOs were produced. The first production and release was filmed.  The word “TIFO” comes from the Italian word “tifosi” which means “fan”. A TIFO is one of the ways in which the fans make themselves visible on the stadium. It is a more or less formalized choreography produced by the the fans right before the match begins. The moment the players run into the field, the prepared TIFO is released, often consisting of banners, colored smoke, colored flags or colored sheets in patterns (“mosaics”), spelling the team, certain players, logos, other statements, or simply showing the colors of the team. The TIFO is carried out by the fans primarily for the players they support, but also for the players of the opposing team and of course the supporters of the opposing team, wishing to impress or frighten them with their number and presence. It is important that the TIFO is a big as possible, and preferably also complex, in order to be as impressive as possible. It often involves thousands of people collaborating. It will last only while the players run into the field, which is not more than a few minutes. The TIFO is thus supposed to be seen from the field, the opposing tribunes and the media. It is a momentary image or gesture produced and carried out by the fans, but it is not visible for themselves. It is a way in which they imagine themselves visible as more than just a sum of individuals; as a collective force. This project consisted in organising and producing TIFOs with Kjernen, the local Rosenborg supporters. The first TIFO we produced together said "Begivenhet", which means "Event" in Norwegian.      Kjernen is an independent group of supporters for the team Rosenborg, based in Trondheim, playing on the local stadium Lerkendal. Kjernen exists independently from the official fan-club for Rosenborg. Kjernen proudly produces its own TIFOs. It often takes weeks if not months to prepare a TIFO. The material have to be purchased, shipped, prepared and finally distributed or placed on the stadium, often in carefully arranged patterns over the tribunes. TIFOs always involve big scale and large quantities, making them quite costly. For Kjernen, the TIFO is always paid by those who organize it, i.e. the fans themselves. Together with Kjernen new ideas for TIFOs were developed, as well as – maybe more importantly -– new ways in which these TIFOs could be imagined and produced. Techniques were designed and developed. For example, the black-and-white painting of a 70 meter by 12 meter banner was made possible through a circular turning-system, developed for this. The banner could not be too heavy in spite of its size, and we found a non-woven textile which has paper-like qualities, but is much stronger when stretched. The paper-like surface and the turning system required a fast-drying color, for which we developed a very thin and watery – yet very black – paint; almost ink. A 100 kilos, 70 x 12 meter ink-drawing on paper, to be released and viewed only for a couple of minutes.          The game was transmitted live from the stadion.  Images of the TIFOs are always published on the homepages of the different supporter groups. Here some of our collective TIFOs published on the homepage of the Tifo-group of Kjernen.   Credits: A big thank you to Zach Formwalt, production manager and technical advisor, and to Åge Sjølstad, contact-person from Kjernen, and top-negotiator with NBK. Also of course to all the Tifo Trondheim and Kjernen-members open to collaborate on producing the TIFOs. Links: Tifo Trondheim, gallery GENERATOR |