Class:
i sadly had a migraine that lasted most of the week this week leading to me not being able to attend this weeks class. from what i gathered it was a brainstorming workshop for the upcoming group project. i also saw that there was some new rules in the CA studio when i went for my tutorial on Friday.
Tutorial:
this was a very good tutorial as i felt i was far behind. Miranda assured me that i am well on my way and have nothing to worry about regarding where my project is at right now. we also agreed that the table and chair might not be the best idea as it specifies the “work place” too much, making it harder to relate to. instead this project might just be in an empty dark room, kind of similar to Bruce Nauman´s “Get out of my mind, get out of this room”.
Miranda also came with the suggestion of having more audio files for the project to make it surround sound with maybe 8 speakers (so 4 audio files) instead of what i had originally planned to do which was 4 speakers with 2 audio files. this was suggested as i have decided to leave the artist books out of this project, giving me more time to. focus on the audio editing. i will attempt this, but due to the heavy work load from the other modules i cant promise il manage to create all 4.
something i keep getting reminded of is how crazy sound art can be when it comes to accessibility. now that my project is in a dark room this can truly be experienced from anywhere. maybe not to the full extent as there are multiple audio files working together, but its still really interesting how this media can transcend the limitations of a gallery space. i can even put a QR code on a business card for anyone to hear the piece. this information really drives me to continue, even though the editing part of this project really tests my patience.
i was also reminded of some artists we looked at in the first years walking and drawing, so i decided to have a look at them again and see what i can learn from them now that i am also doing sound art and not just experiencing it.
Artist research:
Janet Cardiff: Her Long Black Hair- Central Park Sound walk
this is different to my personal project as it takes the listener on a walk. its telling a story. scripted?. but i really enjoy how the sounds work with the journey she is taking us on. the subtle sounds of birds, cars, doors etc. overlapping sounds to create different environments. similar to how we would hear things on a regular walk in the city.
she also doesn’t limit he ruse of sound in her projects. in an interview she mentions that the concept of her works dictates the type of sounds she uses. much like how i have tackled sound art during these two semesters. using sounds of trash for last semester and my voice and sounds of things relating to the concept for this project.
something i might take from her practice is having a gallery of sounds. she walks and records as many sounds as she can and keeps them for future use. this is really smart as it can cut the time i spend recording new audio for my projects. could have an external drive for sound alone?
Ludwig Berger: 1959
he seems to use music and voice recordings, similar to music, but it feels more like slam poetry with musical instruments. not all of his projects have voice recordings however, but its interesting how he has used the two elements together. similar to Janet Cardiff he creates a mood and a sense of space? but maybe in a different way? he also edits his audio differently but distorting the sounds, using digital sounds as well and sounds recorded from instruments. i find this really interesting.
i also really enjoy his focus on tempo in this piece. it has som slower moments of pure silence to very loud and stressful moments. this is something i need to work on in my piece. controlling the audio tempo. i find this keeps me listening longer as its not just stressful, but also gives the listener some room to take inn the audio they just heard. im deffinatly going to look at more of his work and see how long i can leave the audio silent before it gets boring/feels like its done.
Duncan Speakman:
this piece really blew me away. its a piece i could listen to the whole day without getting tired of it. the editing is so intricate, yet it feels so natural. as if the sounds just happened to be that way. this is something i really want to work more on. learning to edit more and figure out interesting ways to distort some sounds. my current audio editing app is very simple, so i might have to find a new one that has more options for editing the recordings.
i also really like the tempo. going from slow and simple with a single voice, to distorted sounds. loud, and unsettling, yet calming.
i will consult my flatmate who is a DJ for the editing software he uses and if he has any tips for how i can edit voices in this way.
https://dspk.bandcamp.com/album/the-house-was-alright
personal project:
i sadly havent gotten any new development as my migraine lasted most of the week, but i have now gotten a better direction of where the work will go so i only need to get going. i know it can be done as i did a lot more then i thought i would be able to do last semester, so i am really looking forward to comming back to this now that i have had a week to think about what im going to do.
Well done, I like it – Abidish 🙂