plays Bach, you can hear him making his own vocal noises in the background, the Artist is present!
I have just discovered the ICA’s SOUNDWORKS resource compiled in response to Bruce Nauman’s Days exhibition;
‘SOUNDWORKS embraces the ephemeral nature of sound, and presents an online platform that doubles as a virtual exhibition space. This site aims to make the works internationally accessible, a place to explore the genre as a medium which is simultaneously inclusive, interactive, and subversive. It includes a wide range of audible approaches by artists who have been working with the medium for many years, as well as artists taking their first venture into the sonic arts.’ (description sourced from ICA site.)
Have a look…
One recorded in a professional sound proof room on proper equipment, one through a mic straight into the mac, the other the long winded way- through a dictaphone then the sound file transfered through various software. but which one captures IT?
Have a Listen to this G Major Piano Sound Sketch…
Recorded at home, on my Piano, in my environment; my nest, my safety zone, the place of my chosen peripheral noises. I feel it important to create a piece in a professional environment controlling the peripheral sound using quality recording equipment to produce a clear, stark, controlled sound.
This will enable me to compare and contrast the eccentricities of the two, particularly when the volume has been cranked up, allowing me to make an informed decision which to use for my Degree show.
There may be no real sound difference, on the other hand the difference could be substancial. Either way for me the way the sound has been made will play an important part and will need to be reflected on.
Vaguely reminiscent of the whirly gig…
but just beautiful and memorising ‘A Moment on the Beach’. On beautiful sunny days when feeling tight and fuzzy it would be a luxury to happen upon a wonder such as this to sit in quite contemplative mode and just Be.
The Whirly Gig
It looks simple, have a go… competition against oneself begins, frustration sets in and builds up. Irritation for all those around is on the rise, one slip, one misjudgement start again. The internal communication system under the spot light to be witnessed and experienced.
The sound for me is raw and personal, i’m learning the piano, i’ve wanted to learn it since a child, its taking a long time… The ‘music’ and its mistakes speaks for the in-articulation or the mis-communication/slip-ups between brain and body.
Brought back from my Uni Flash Exhibition and reinstalled the Whirly Gig in action, see the brain body communication and miscommunication in action. The frustration of completing what on first perusal appears easy, the competition that begins against oneself.
‘A Moment in her Life…2008’
An Exhibition held in the loft of our garage before its conversion. Currently dealing with the issues of how to document my work, which has now taken a shift to Participation and Sound, has made me think back to this particular piece. Not only was it a Site Specific piece made in the moment and destroyed shortly after, the site was dark and small making photography and film very difficult. The video below shows the difficulty…
Maybe that is why i hung onto the mass of string and ‘stuff’ and explored rehanging it, see my BA Fine Art folder for images of rehanging in the ‘a moment…’ series.
A Moment in My Life… 12.12.12 Deborah Humm
‘C Major Scan’ 2012
My line of enquiry is the manipulation of the norm in an expression of the everyday, I do this in a variety of endeavours, visually articulating the communication of brain and body; mind and functionality; thought and action. Messages from the brain not reaching the body, and from the body not reaching the brain. Rogue communications, misinterpretations, lost and broken signals resulting in frustration and annoyance.
Thinking about the practical, biological functionality of how the nerves work-the internal communication network of the body I work with the conducting material metal wire. Twisting and wrapping to mimic the tangle of nerves one might imagine. The everyday communication between brain and body doing the mundane, taken for granted action of breathing, blinking, seeing, walking, picking up and holding a pen to write or draw the spark of a thought, the magic moment of creation of idea.
Then oh the addition of the rebel, the non-conductor, the translucent material of Glass opens up a world of contradictions, which can also experienced through ones senses. Glass Globlets break the communication line of the wire disrupting the signal.
Taking ‘A Moment’ to an outside space was a very exciting experience, the wind totally transformed the piece to a thing of beauty and calming from a distance, but up close it was alive, violent and disturbing…
I feel confused, is this because the beach is a positive fun place-although the weather is inclement Cold and grey, or because I’m not in the dark place I was when first constructed?
The openness, vastness of sky and beach?
It’s a tiny blip in the horizon blink and it’s gone
Not a reflection, not a dangle to avoid
Very windy
Very noisy, waves constant in my ear, can barely think-this is reminiscent of my headache, this is what I experience when it all gets too much-but you can’t shut it away-a whirlwind in your head making the thoughts spin faster and faster-more and more uncontrollable
The movement, shuddering, flexing, snapping back, quivering uncontrollable
I worked with Debbie when I commissioned her to produce around 20 drawings for a SureStart sign and Rhyme class. I gave her number of topics and was delighted with the pieces of work and ideas she came back with. Delivered within the allotted timeframe, they where all beautifully drawn with obvious love and care and with an imagination and approach that all the children loved. They became a staple part of the class and the children seemed to relate to the pictures and their relative ‘signs’ very well indeed.
Kate Tilby, Sign and Rhyme. SureSteps.
