I have been developing my ideas a little more, and I am thoroughly enjoying the process. Figuring out solutions to problems, how I want to communicate my work and what I will need to do it has been a process I’ve been thriving in as opposed to getting too stressed out.
I made these notes and drawings during our most recent lesson, and I felt I took a lot of valuable content from hearing Milo speak. As my notes explain, this show is an opportunity to have my work exist within an expanded field full of friends, family and potential collaborators. It could even be that people turn up to the exhibition who have an influence within the world of sound arts, so I must treat this as if people that can offer me opportunities are taking notice.
Out of my initial ideas I felt that the most interesting and achievable one was the idea I had titled ‘Painting with Sound’. The interactive aspect has a lot of room to be developed and the use of a generative sound would take away this shiny, well polished ‘finished article’ that galleries so often accommodate. The potential for my piece to be an infinite, co-produced process in real time rather than a final product I feel leans toward a different type of experience than what is typically associated with a gallery. Even people that aren’t entirely engaged with the art world would be able to understand the work and feel included, as if they are having a conversation with the sound and image generated by the system.
I continued to be fluid and uncommitted to a singular possibility when drawing out more ideas, so that I didn’t lead myself down a narrow path. I feel the working abstract for this idea is slowly becoming clear. I will include a brief summary of where I feel this idea is going thematically:
My installation offers a unique, individual experience that encourages a conversation with the audience and the work. Through a simple controller that is open for people to interact with, the sound will react in different ways to whatever direction the person takes it in. This installation strives to break the barrier between artist, art and audience and embraces endless process over definitive result.
I feel as though I’m going for more a feeling here over a deeper concept, which is different from how I usually work. I think this idea is starting to take a lot of influence from my recent change in approach towards my work, as I have been a lot more process led which is different from when I used to run everything through a pre-conceived concept. I hope this idea can communicate this new direction I am going in.
The questions I have now following these developments are:
Does there need to be audio-reactive visuals?
What aesthetic am I going for? (colours, mood, flair)
How many speakers will I need?
I need a visual element. What would work the best? (mirrors, LEDs, DMX lights, audio reactive software)
I think I want to stick with the simple MIDI controller with different knobs controlling different parameters like macros, because anything too intricate or complicated would firstly take up a lot of time figuring out, and secondly confuse the audience as well as myself. Things need to be kept simple. I am still stuck on how a visual element would work. There is audio reactive software like ‘Touch Designer’ or Ableton’s ‘Zwobot’, but again the process of creating an engaging visual that will react to the audio with these systems is very time consuming.
As a class we went to the gallery for the first time and got to view all the spaces at our disposal. Most of the rooms fit my ideas well because they are all rectangular and that is all I really need. However, I think after seeing the space I will cut the idea I had with the circular space, because I would have to build it and there’s simply not enough time. What I was most interested by apart from actually seeing the spaces was the garden, as an outside space is something I didn’t consider when drawing my ideas. There are a few big walls and interesting areas that could accommodate some innovative work should my ideas develop in that direction.
I recorded some rough sketches to help me retain the feeling of the rooms, and wrote down some general pointers and ideas that sprung to mind. There is also a floor plan on Moodle that I’ve included below which is helping me filter out my options.
I also transferred some of the thoughts and questions that the gallery visit raised for me. Milo spoke about the importance of looking at the show as an ‘orchestra’, which made me ponder my concepts and the reasons behind them in a more critical way. My work needs to stand on its own but it also needs to act as an element of the wider show that makes sense. For this reason I have started engaging in conversation with my classmates to get an idea of their approaches and plans. The overall feeling I am getting is that there is an emphasis on interactivity and inclusivity within a lot of the ideas I’ve heard, and I will use this knowledge to influence the outcome of my own final proposal.
My exhibition visits have sparked a wave of ideas in my head. I feel very confident that I can make something that works in a gallery context but also doesn’t compromise my style and personality in order to achieve that.
IDEA 1
After recently re-watching Christopher Nolan’s ‘Tenet’, I took inspiration from the duality of the film, which is most blatantly demonstrated through the two rooms in the film separated by a mirror. One room goes forward and the other in reverse. I thought it could be interesting to expand this into an 8-channel piece with a sound slowly transforming from moving forward to being in reverse as you move through a circular corridor. Mirrors would be an important element.
IDEA 2
This idea largely stems from the Shilpa Gupta quote that I spoke about previously, where she talks about interactivity being a perfect way to move towards stimulating residue in the memory. With a quadraphonic speaker setup and audio reactive light display, the visitor would be able to turn knobs on a simple MIDI device in the centre of the room. This device would change certain parameters and character of an endless generative sound. I feel this idea is strong because it grasps the co-produced artist/visitor method very well. The piece would have no start or end and every person would have a unique experience that they are actively involved with.
IDEA 3
Based partly on Shilpa Gupta’s ‘For in Your Tongue, I Cannot Fit’ and the use of mirrors displayed so beautifully at the ‘LUX’ exhibition, this idea is the most simple. With varioud microphones suspended from the ceiling and a 5.1 speaker setup, the visitor would walk into a room that is recording its own atmosphere, so they would be able to hear themselves and everything around them in a different way. The sound would go through extensive processing which would create imperfections and artefacts so that the speakers produce sounds that occasionally delay, mutate and break up. The only problem with this idea is controlling the feedback caused by the mic’s and speakers.
IDEA 4
I feel like this idea is the most ambitious because it hinges on me or a potential collaborator making an animation from scratch. In all honesty I believe this idea would be better suited to a longer project. Despite this, I do think it would work well as the end result is simple, drawing from the aesthetic style and satirical nature of Nalini Malani’s work.
I visited the exhibition titled ‘Lux: New Wave of Contemporary Art’ at 180 The Strand with my friend who studies interactive design. It was good to go with someone who was looking at the show in a similar way to me, because it meant we had a lot of good conversation revolving around the art. The other exhibitions I went to were contained to a single artist and were driven by a quite clear conceptual direction, whereas this was a collection of 13 works by 12 artists which created a more varied experience. The overriding theme was light, and every installation fell somewhere within the spectrum of light. Some were more thematic and others purely dealt with fresh and innovative techniques within audio-visual art.
The artists included in the exhibition were:
iart Studio
Es Devlin
Julianknxx
a’strict
Carsten Nicolai
Cecilia Bengolea
Hito Steyerl
Cao Yuxi
Universal Everything
Je Baak
Refik Anadol
Random International
I found the show inspiring in so many ways. Some of the experiences I had were completely unlike anything I’ve seen; truly innovative and boundary pushing. Techniques such as 3D projection mapping, neural networks, quantum computing and algorithmic visualisation are becoming more and more integrated in contemporary art, as the art world continues to grow alongside the evolution of technology. In no way do I know how any of this was done, but that is beautiful to me because it opened my eyes to a entirely new way of approaching audio-visual artwork, which is something I want to immerse myself in more and more as I grow as an artist.
I won’t touch on every installation because some of them didn’t really excite me compared to others and while I appreciated the innovation in every piece, I can’t lie and say I enjoyed all of them. In my opinion, there were a couple, such as Hiyo Steyerl’s ‘This is the Future’ that I found cluttered and overly stimulating. This may be because this was one of the last pieces I saw, so possibly my mind was influenced by the works I had just seen.
However, almost all of them I loved. ‘Starry Beach’ by a’strict was one of the most surreal experiences I had during my visit, with high-definition projections of waves crashing up and down the walls and floor. It was such a peaceful space, and mirrors either side of the back wall meant that there was an illusion that you were completely consumed by these fluid visuals. Mirrors seemed to be quite a common theme across many installations, as they usually served as a way to expand the image and make the room feel much bigger. Another piece that utilised this mirror technique was Carsten Nicolai’s ‘unicolor’, which examined the psychology of colour perception. It was a really simple and effective installation, and the mirrors either side of the strip of changing colour created an infinite corridor either side. This is a really simple trick that I definitely want to consider when drawing out some ideas.
Another example that utilised mirrors, and probably my favourite out of all the installations, was ‘Renaissance Generative Dreams’ (2021) by Refik Anadol. This was the piece that inspired me the most, as I was just awe-struck by the ingenuity and concept behind it. The piece emerged from experiments with turning visual and textural datasets of Renaissance painting and sculpture into multidimensional art pieces. The AI machine would reimagine these historical works and as it did the pieces would change shape and colour, offering an insight into the machine’s data universe. I found the idea of reinterpreting traces of art history so refreshing and exciting, because this piece emphasised the power of artificial intelligence and how it can be used to elevate existing work as well as creating new art.
VIDEO – Renaissance Generative Dreams – https://drive.google.com/file/d/10zv82wLjXUjC4cezjRqODA-M2PCvyCCs/view?usp=sharing
There was one piece that I found so intriguing and it was the installation that I experienced for the longest amount of time, which goes to show how captivating it was. Titled ‘Transfiguration’ (2020) by Universal Everything, the video shows a CGI giant walking and changing form. The giant went from wood to air to fire to water to rock and many more materials, with the sound reflecting the footsteps. There would be harsh, hollow sounding timbres when the giant was made of wood, and then this would transition into the fluid, calming sound of water for example. The attention to detail was incredible and I thought it was a really inventive way of approaching an exhibition. A very simple end product but a hugely complex process that went into it.
VIDEO – Transfiguration – https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AhishromlV4ZTr3vu2noP34WI3EwRWDF/view?usp=sharing
The final work I want to mention is a piece by Es Devlin called ‘BLUESKYWHITE’ (2021). Split into two parts, the grandest installation in the whole show is drawn from the issue of global warming. Part one is a 24 metre long red-lit tunnel that is scored by audible text from Byron’s 1816 poem ‘Darkness’. The idea was to recreate the sky after the Mount Tambora eruption in 1815, which released over 100,000,000 tonnes of gas and particles into the air, resulting in a dimming of the sun and intensely red skies at sunset, as well as a reduction of the earth’s temperature by 3 degrees celsius.
Part two references solar geo-engineering models documented by Elizabeth Kolbert which suggest a haze of suspended particles might reduce the earth’s temperature and turn the blue sky white. I found the concept and use of space fascinating, because it is referencing an increasingly worrying problem in global warming, and offering an interesting solution through an intricately crafted art show. I find art can often be a great entry point into certain topics that a lot of people overlook, because it can depict a subject in a way that is so transparent and explicit that it incites an emotional response. This particular work used what Adam Basanta described as a ‘closed space’ – a space that is limited by architectural barriers. The first part is a hallway and the second a small room with screens, mirrors (again) and seating. Upon experiencing both open and closed spaces at this exhibition, they really do offer different experiences. The closed spaces often had more of an intimate feeling and often felt more immersive, like I was in the work itself.
The second exhibition I visited was Mumbai artist Shilpa Gupta’s installation “For In Your Tongue, I Cannot Fit”, which I went to with the class at the Barbican. This was a very different kind of experience compared to Nalini Malani’s installation, as it was a lot more dominated by sound and had a more specific concept, as well as a different overall mood. I found the concept very moving – Gupta did an excellent job in my opinion of addressing a centuries-old social issue but emphasising it’s relevance in the current day. I’ve never seen an exhibition quite like this. The overall theme was “[giving] the microphone back to those who were rendered voiceless” (Contemporary, 2021). Gupta creates an experience in which you are able to hear centuries worth of poetry in just an hour, by playing hour-long audio loops through 100 suspended speakers. All of the poems are by people that had either been incarcerated, tortured or executed for their beliefs or for speaking the truth. As this Dallas Contemporary text reads, “As the artist put it herself, ‘Often, as it is happening right now, the voices of the truth cause discomfort and are cut off, yet the echo remains and continues to be heard.’ ” (Contemporary, 2021)
The exhibition consisted firstly of two suspended bars that would spin and show new letters every few seconds, forming words and phrases. In my interpretation these words were spread out over time to highlight the length of time it can take for people’s voices to truly be heard and their words understood. It also set the tone for the rest of the show, which was laid out in The Barbican’s space ‘The Curve’.
VIDEO – https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tFA3OGZUlKX4Q4vIJ65Z-UkiuKYMQ5G7/view?usp=sharing
Following this there were numerous small drawings framed within wood that resembles a prison cell. This added so much context to the main installation because it simplified and perfectly illustrated how these people were all made voiceless and absent by politics and states. All of the drawings looked to me like singular line drawings, with all of the figures faceless, which further evoked the lengths that people in power went to to erase these people who were speaking from the heart. I found this particularly powerful.
Finally I arrived at the main installation. The ambience in the room caught my attention straight away; there was a stillness that induced a sense of calm and panic simultaneously in my body. I’m not sure why this was, maybe because I entered with these images in my mind already, or maybe because the sounds themselves were so haunting. From a compositional and artistic perspective, I really took a lot from the use of the space. The dangling speakers each towered above single pages of poetry stabbed with a spike, which culminated in a minimal but densely populated room. The loop of audio darted between each speaker so that as you walked through the room you would hear a recital in Arabic, for instance, in the distance and then hear a whisper in Spanish right next to you. There was an an ethereal atmosphere that this created, as if the sound was forming a pool around me. It felt like I was in a shallow lake, or walking through a gentle stream. Although most of the audio I could not understand, I still felt it and that told me a lot about how captivating a sense of space can be.
VIDEO – https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NHSRoj5vbRu3r-JQ7TNhIXsxEHx51-Zt/view?usp=sharing
This is definitely one of the most profound experiences I have had in a Gallery. Not only did I have a real emotional response, but I was paying attention to the artistic decisions and use of space that were apparent. After reading the Adam Basanta article that I documented, this felt like a hybrid installation of both open and closed spaces. Open because there was no singular direction in the room you had to go in, but closed as each speaker drew me in for a more intimate moment.
On Shilpa Gupta’s website I found an interview from 2010 that I feel has a huge amount of relevance to this project, and my ideas of how to approach my installation at this point. When asked by Amar Kanwar about defining moments in her career, Gupta finishes her answer with this amazing quote: “This possibility of a shift in perception via an art process is something that has always made me believe that art can indeed create residue in the memory; that it can question and even slightly challenge preconceived notions. Interactivity, especially at a one-to-one level, is a great means of moving towards this.” (Shilpagupta.com, 2022)
This quote truly resonated with me because it echoes what Vicki Bennett was saying in her lecture about the existence of art as a process as opposed to a final product. Gupta talks about interactivity as a means of questioning and challenging preconceived notions, and this I feel sums up my current mindset towards art. Embracing the process as the art instead of glorifying a flashy end point in my opinion transcends the true essence of art into the real world, and an installation is a way to allow other people to get involved with this process, allowing for an artwork that is co-produced and exists moment to moment through experience rather than a definitive end product.
REFERENCES
Contemporary, D. (2021). Art 19. [online] Art 19. Available at: https://www.art-19.com/news/dallas-contemporary-shilpa-gupta-for-in-your-tongue-i-cannot-fit [Accessed 14 Jan. 2022].
Since 1991 British artist Vicki Bennett has been working across the field of audio-visual collage, repurposing pre-existing footage to craft audio and video collages with an equally dark and witty take on popular culture. She sees sampling and collage as folk art sourced from the palette of contemporary media and technology, with all of the sharing and cross-referencing incumbent to a populist form. Embedded in her work is the premise that all is interconnected and that claiming ownership of an “original” or isolated concept is both preposterous and redundant. In 2006 she was the first artist to be given unrestricted access to the entire BBC Archive. People Like Us have previously shown work at Tate Modern, Whitechapel Gallery, The Barbican, Centro de Cultura Digital, V&A, Sydney Opera House, Royal Albert Hall, Pompidou Centre, Venice Biennale, Maxxi and Sonar, and performed radio sessions for John Peel and Mixing It. The ongoing sound art radio show ‘DO or DIY’ on WFMU has had over a million “listen again” downloads since 2003.
NOTES –
Early work began with radio work
“ownership of an ‘original’ work or isolated concept is both preposterous and redundant” – I like this mindset, it is essentially emphasising the importance to view your ideas and your practice as an important part of a wider web of interconnected references, idea development and exciting art
“when do you pause? when do you decide to let that which is not you in?” – moving away from this perspective that you should be ‘protective’ over your ideas and your identity; as an artist it is important to accept things that you don’t perceive as ‘you’ into your way of thinking
Part of the Plunderphonics movement
In the analogue world you are limited to the materials and ideas generated from those that are in your immediate vicinity, there is no endless void like the internet
Identifies as a ‘collage artist’ – this means within sound and visual work, mashing things up
‘The Sound of the End of Music’ – Short Film – Merging together different songs with different sounds but in the same key and time-stretching to fit into a tempo – I found this created an alternate way of listening to the songs. I love the edit of the video as well where it looks like the woman is walking in front of an Armageddon ( “The Hills are Alive” from the sound of music merged with “The End” by The Doors)
“Originality is not important, uniqueness and energy are important”
“Your experience is the most important, no matter where you started”
“You can never let go of the fact that you’re always sampling”
‘We are not amused’ – Short Film – all about ideas and what happens if you keep them yo yourself
Lot’s of humour and playfulness in her work – different to comedy as it is a more ethereal playfulness as opposed to trying to make people laugh
“If you can’t change things, where the hell are we going with our lives?”
‘The Golum – An inanimate matter’ – Short Film – film about The Golum which is a mythical Jewish monster that was trapped in a book and terrorised a Library
Important that the process becomes a part of the product – This is something I can reference when I am developing my installation; allowing the process of creating sound art by removing the final product
These screenshots offer an insight into Vicki’s process – beginning with a mind map then sourcing loads of text surrounding the concept before constructing larger concepts and building a narrative for the artwork
‘Walking Through the Mirror’ – Short Film – delving into the deeper meanings of mirrors and reflection – I think the collage method works especially well in this instance, as the manipulation of the songs and blending of film visuals with a playful aesthetic create a bizarre atmosphere
Recently (past five years) been working in the realm of spatial audio
‘Gone, Gone, Beyond’ – Audio-visual surround sound film at The Barbican – uses Naut Humon’s structure CineChamber – a ten-screen, eight-speaker space that creates a 360-degree audio-visual experience for an audience located at the centre of the room, dispersing perspectives and possible points of view.
This CineChamber is the type of space I would love to have my work shown in, definitely something to keep in mind.
“Making everything elasticated in terms of time and meaning. Trying to be inspiring and motivating at the same time.”
Being transparent with your process
Once you have enough material (notes/research etc.) you will always be able to get something out of it
As soon as an original is released into the public domain, the owner has to leave the room for interpretation and allow the work to grow its own life
Our self-identification expires so quickly that it doesn’t make sense to hold things so close in terms of art particularly
FINAL THOUGHTS –
Above everything else, I felt that Vicki’s mindset and approach towards her work genuinely inspired me. I loved hearing her perspective on originality and this poisonous culture of copyright within art, especially sampling in music. Artists should be treating their art as a continuation of an idea that has preceded them, as well as the start of new ideas that will build from it. Instead of being so over-protective of your artwork, I feel sharing is the most vital thing. Vicki was talking about sharing her process and looking at the process of art making as a part of the product. If anything, it is arguably more of a product than the final outcome is. I have been trying to teach myself to think like this more as of late and set myself free of the worry and anxiety that comes with perfectionism. I think these points that Vicki made resonated with me so much for this reason.
To stimulate some ideas and experience installation works live in the flesh, I went to a few exhibitions around London. The first was this exhibition titled “Can You Hear Me?” by Indian artist Nalini Malani. Despite the fact that Malani is a visual artist, I found this installation very relevant for this current project. There were various large speakers laid across the floor in the open space, which projected uneasy synth tones and piano notes. These sounds provided the soundtrack to visceral animations that were stunningly beautiful with a sharp edge of explicit darkness. The freehand style of the drawings (that had been sequenced to create fast paced moving images) induced a sense of innocence around the cold themes of the images themselves.
Based largely around feminism, racial tension, violence and social inequality, Malani highlights the horror of the present moment through detailed images of mythical characters, quoted text and notation. These unmistakeably explicit depictions of the current state of the world often lean into a satirical tone, with the description of the installation on the Whitechapel Gallery website describing the work as “Moral outrage [combining] with a rollicking delight in satire and absurdity.”
“THE ANIMATION CHAMBER CONTAINS THE VOICES IN MY HEAD AND MY HEART, SIMULATING HOW THE MIND WORKS, AS ORDERED CHAOS”
This resembles a ‘stream of consciousness’, and I love how Malani has adapted this ‘scatter-brained’ concept directly into the style of her work.
I found a lot of inspiration through my experience viewing this, not just because of the dazzling visuals and encapsulating soundtrack, but also because of how well the space was used. Malani has done a fantastic job of filling up a very big open space, whilst at the same time leaving enough room for each projection to breathe. The angles that the images were projected at were slightly skewed, creating an air of discomfort which made the whole installation feel more organic and human. The images were an exaggerated and graffiti-like representation of issues we face in the current moment, but the composition in the space meant that you could examine one projection closely and feel consumed by the feeling it would emanate, and then you could stand in the middle of the room and experience the scale of all of the projections together, which offered me a totally different perspective on the work. I felt an increased sense of agency as a visitor, as if the work was a world I was free to explore. I liked this feeling and it is something that I would like to capture in my own work.
REFERENCES
Whitechapel Gallery. (2021). Nalini Malani: Can You Hear Me? – Whitechapel Gallery. [online] Available at: https://www.whitechapelgallery.org/exhibitions/nalini-malani-can-you-hear-me/ [Accessed 7 Jan. 2022].
Gallery, W. (2020). Nalini Malani: Can You Hear Me?YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1iK-IQNFfw&t=202s&ab_channel=WhitechapelGallery [Accessed 7 Jan. 2022].
I’m very excited to start this unit, as it is the project that I feel is most important for me. My work has been evolving recently and my ideas are as good as they’ve ever been, so a chance to showcase my work in a public exhibition is a huge opportunity that I don’t want to miss out on. Seeing as there will only be 8-10 proposals actually being included in the show, it is vital that I work quickly, efficiently and in a focused manner to make sure my installation is included.
I have started the process off by reading Adam Basanta’s article ‘Extending Musical Form Outwards in Space and Time: Compositional strategies in sound art and audio-visual installations’. I found this article hugely beneficial as it goes into depth about how work within a gallery space differs from a musical performance, but also how the fundamentals of a musical performance can be reinterpreted when working with and writing about an installation. I have included all my notes below, which contain quotes from the article, analysis and references.
What stood out the most to me from the article was this idea of temporal form, which can be experienced differently depending on the structure of the installation. In a co-produced work, the experience cannot be temporal if the mobile visitor isn’t moving around, as the experience is then not happening over time as the physical human movement triggers changes in the otherwise static sound. This is based on the perception of the visitor as the variation in their position would change how the sound is received. On the other hand, a motivic development within the installation (which means the expansion or expression of a works core aspects) would mean the experience is temporal without the need for visitor movement as the sound is developing through spatial movement and changes in itself. The two approaches vary dramatically and would require totally different methods of building up an installation.
Both, however, are new approaches for me because I have never had the opportunity to produce work that can potentially be in collaboration with the audience. In both approaches, visitor movement, length of their stay, interaction and exploratory journey are all indeterminate and all affect how their individual experience will be. This is an important thing to keep in mind because I will have to think as if I was visiting an installation myself, and what things would keep me interested and inspired.
I’m happy I have learned more definitive terms used within installation practice because it will help me to distinguish aspects of my work and make explaining my ideas easier over the process of completing this project.
References :
Basanta, A. (2015). Extending Musical Form Outwards in Space and Time: Compositional strategies in sound art and audiovisual installations. Organised Sound, [online] 20(2), pp.171–181. Available at: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/organised-sound/article/extending-musical-form-outwards-in-space-and-time-compositional-strategies-in-sound-art-and-audiovisual-installations/BF3BB8F61FC032822EAA14F3CA1A4335 [Accessed 6 Jan. 2022].
