Dissertation 002: Fluxus Movement

 

In theory the fluxes movement should be the answer to works that are more accessible and understood. They break down the boundaries between the performer (or work) and audience (or viewer of the work). There are elements of chance and playfulness we can all relate to. I've been looking at another art movement of the 90's that has a lot in common. I will expand on this later as my ideas are not fully formulated at this stage...

Borrowed manifesto!

 

 'Art has been removed from being an integral part of our society and has been relegated to mere processes which had lead to the production of dry, academic, pedantic, superficial, mechanical, and mass produced works of art devoid of all integrity, honesty, and meaning and has stripped art of its physical, psychological, moral and spiritual impact necessary for the thriving and indeed the very survival of human culture'  

Manifesto by Umberto Crenca, Martha Dempster and Steven Emma (1982)

   

And if you replace Art with Sound Art...

Dissertation 001: Philosophy and Improvisation

In a few weeks time I will hand in my dissertation proposal. 

I've been researching and reading on and off during my summer break. It's a matter of me picking a subject within sound art discourse (that I'm passionate about) and sticking with it.
I think I've found a direction to pursue...

I'm currently reading 'Listening to Noise and Silence: Towards a Philosophy of Sound Art' by Salome Voegelin, 'Sudden Music: Improvisation, Sound, Nature' by David Rothenberg and various online journals. I've identified four more books I want to take out. More updates soon.

Acorn Bath

Maybe I am biased but this album is amazing!

Horacio Pollard (Leon) is crashing at our house and he gave me a copy of his latest album released on Twilight Luggage (a small Norwegian record label dedicated to noise, experimental, improv and drone music). You can download it for free here

Acorn Bath is Horacio Pollard's second album for Twilight Luggage, and his world doesn't seem to have gotten any less strange since the last visit. Bizarre creatures play manic musique concrete while pieces of broken machinery jump out of the bushes to partake in the spectacle. Come along on another wonderful journey into the unknown with Horacio!

http://www.twilightluggage.com/rel/TLMP26

Kari Tykkyläinen

 

I recently discovered this amazing old man on YouTube (thanks to Rich). His name is Kari Ahti Ilmari Tykkyläinen, he's an artist, sculptor and musician. One of his other passions is making videos with young (and old) girls dresses in stockings (off course it's deeper than that). He has uploaded over 700 videos on his YT page. He uses his own music on many of the clips.

Incubate

 

 

I might go to this festival if it's financially viable. A lot of my friends are playing over that weekend (Festival runs from September the 12th to the 19th).

Incubate is the annual celebration of independent culture. Expect a diverse view on indie culture as a whole, including music, contemporary dance, film and visual arts. We bring more than 200 cutting edge artists in an intimate context to an international audience. Black metal next to free jazz. Street art next to academic dance.

Listening Post

I went to see Listening Post yesterday at the Science Museum. It took me about two hours to get there, that's London traffic for you! Once I found the entrance I was excited like a kid going to see a dinosaur exhibition for the first time. The installation by Mark Hansen and Ben Rubin was captivating and humorous. The overall experience reminded me of cyberpunk films such as Hackers to name one. As soon you enter the dark room you are drawn into it, staring at 200 mini screens that resemble a home cinema screen. The seating arrangement and dramatic ambient music add to the cinematic feeling. The long intervals after the messages are displayed and read out create anticipation and tension. I did not particularly appreciate the cheesy background music that accompanied the whole process. I do like the concept of computer generated voices reading out uncensored random messages abstracted from chat rooms on the internet. The randomness made me stay longer waiting to hear more absurd messages. 

Mark Hansen and Ben Rubin's Listening Post immerses us in a rhythm of computer-synthesised voices reading, or singing out, a fluid play of real-time text fragments. The fragments are sampled from thousands of live, unrestricted internet chatrooms, bulletin boards and other online public forums. They are uncensored and unedited. Stray thoughts resonate through the space in sound and voice as texts surge, flicker, appear and disappear, at varying sizes and speeds, across a suspended grid of over 200 small electronic screens. An ambient soundtrack accompanies the activity with isolated pulses reminiscent of computer modems, clatterings, footsteps and the beeping of mechanical answering machines. At intervals darkness and silence take over, creating momentary pauses before Listening Post continues with its next movement.

http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/