– Week 4 –
Sound Art in the British Context
Introduction
Sound Art in the British context is an unfinished, constantly developing story.
“What I’m trying out at this stage of my life is new formats, or new settings maybe, or formats and settings that have been tried before but then been forgotten or pushed aside because established formats
have such a powerful hold on our thinking.” ( Toop p.582)
This article is an interview with David Toop made in 2014.
Summary
Toop finds “sound art” problematic. 1. The economy of the art world. (issues of value – e.g. Banksy, Monet, exclusive, elitist, class, privilege, crime, capitalism, status of artists, precarity, austerity)- provide examples and case studies to back up your argument. 2. The creation of an object (even if a text, concept, or installation) – “sound work was always about a process”
Reflection and Discussion
There are a few contradictions in Toop’s discourse – on one hand, he talks about how process and artistic process should be a natural instinct rather than a job. By characterizing art as “work” he sets up barriers, and is then complicit in the capitalist appropriation of “art”. On the other hand, making art takes practice, and is hard work – art is a practice, a skill, a technique
Questions
“Sound art” first used in 1983? Where? By whom?
Who is David Toop?
Is all expensive art money laundering? Tax havens?
Glossary
Orthodox – “Following or conforming to the traditional or generally accepted rules or beliefs of a religion, philosophy, or practice.” (Oxford Languages Definition)
Problematize – “Make into or regard as a problem requiring a solution.” (Oxford Languages Definition)
– Week 5 –
Sound in Japan
“Sound holds a special place in Japan. The country’s distinctive
aural signatures are closely bound to its history, nature, and
culture.” (p.654)
Introduction
aural signatures – the relationship of these to history, nature and culture of Japan.
contrast between rural tradition (serenity) and urban hyper-modernism (noise)
“They do not pose a contradiction, but reflect two views into the same thing. Noise is not considered an “other” to silence.” (.ibid)
Conclusion / Future Work
Explore the state of Japan’s sociocultural conditions, its oppressive and conservative nature, and how it has altered throughout history and how that could’ve influenced certain themes in art amongst Japanese artists.
Questions
Japanese tunings and time signatures – do the latter exist?
Glossary
shishi-odoshi: (鹿威し) (‘scaredeer’ or ‘scareboar’) Referenced in “Kill Bill“, “Final Fantasy”. Relation to scarecrows.
wabi-sabi:
“Wabi sabi is an aesthetic ideal and philosophy that is best understood in terms of the Zen philosophy that has nurtured and molded its development over the last thousand years. Zen seeks artistic expression in forms that are as pure and sublime as the Zen tenets they manifest; it eschews intellectualism and pretense and instead aims to unearth and frame the beauty left by the flows of nature. Wabi sabi embodies the Zen nihilist cosmic view and seeks beauty in the imperfections found as all things, in a constant state of flux, evolve from nothing and devolve back to nothing.
(Juniper 2003:1)
“Long ago a man out walking encountered a hungry tiger, which proceeded to chase and corner him at the edge of a small precipice. The man jumped to avoid the impending danger and in so doing managed to catch the limb of a tree growing from the small escarpment. While he hung there he became aware of a second tiger, this one at the foot of the precipice, waiting for him to fall. As his strength began to wane the man noticed a wild strawberry that was growing within his reach. He gently brought it to his lips in the full knowledge that it would be the last thing that he ever ate— how sweet it was.” (.ibid)
onomatopoeia: a word that actually looks like the sound it makes, and we can almost hear those sounds as we read. Here are some words that are used as examples of onomatopoeia: slam, splash, bam, babble, warble, gurgle, mumble, and belch.
– Week 7 –
Touching Sound Art: Curatorial Practices in West Germany
Summary
“By taking these exhibitions as case studies, this essay considers the crucial role of the sense of touch, coupled with the importance of the conjunction between the senses of sight and hearing”.
“ability to mechanize and automate the connection between seeing and hearing. The fascination with automation laid the foundations for a visual
and sonorous event free of human interference in its operation.”
Inside the White Cubbe: The ldeology of the Gallery Space by the artist Brian O’Doherty. Published just a few years before the exhibition in Berlin, O’Doherty’s book discussed the mediated environment of the modernist gallery which is in fact integrated into the artworks, content.
“the exhibitions mentioned here emphasised the senses of sight, hearing and touch and yet the discourse around those events as well as the remaining documentary material is primarily visually driven” (p512)
“the connection between arts and crafts?
Artists
Luigi Russolo
Man Ray
Christina Kubisch
Bernard Leitner
Critical Reflection
more ontology: “a category which incorporated technological developments in music reproduction and electronic instruments” (Noy p511)
Klangobjekte – “where composers and visual artists used mechanical and electronic techniques” (ibid)
References
Akademie der Künste (1980) Für Augen und Ohren : von der Spieluhr zum akustischen Environment ; Objekte, Installationen, Performances in der Akademie der Künste.
DeBord, G (1967) Society of the Spectacle. publisher?
O’Doherty (??) Inside the White Cube: The ldeology of the Gallery Space . publisher?
Glossary
curator
Kantian
Greenbergian