Worktype: Multimedia Performance
Location: Serpentine Gallery, London
The Sound Moneyfesto was launched by Lee Scrivner at the Manifesto Marathon 2008 at the Serpentine Gallery in London. The mp3 above is his demo of one of four compositions performed by the ensemble.
It used music, satire, and word play to comment on the 2008 banking crisis (specifically the failures of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) and the idea of sound money.
The Sound Moneyfesto was launched in concert with manifestos from Marina Abramovic, Brian Eno, Gilbert & George, Yoko Ono and Vivienne Westwood.
A talk/presentation to the general public. Sound Art and Digital Media.
Lecture Theatre, MacRobert Building. University of Abderdeen
This presentation concerns Streaming Media and Network Radio. Of particular interest to me is the selection of two of my case studies as examples, namely Negativeland and Sam Auinger (other artists selected by Byrne are Katherin Roggla, Bruce Russell and x.y)
playback > > Background level of unknown track
Byrne begins his tracing of the topic with the over-familiar citation of Marinetti’s Futurist Manifesto for Radio, La Radio from 1933. This vision is criticised for its rather utopian scope, and the discussion moves on to a consideration of broadcast as a medium and the essential tension between the visionaries of radio, such as Marinetti, and the political reality facing such artists when working in such a capital intensive domain. Early on in the radio’s history, studios and stations became rapidly centralised, moving away from the participatory, many-to-many networks imagined by Marinetti, to become fetishised centres for the dissemination of dominant discourse to societies being organised to maximise consumption and production. Artists who chose to work in this medium worked under highly restricted parameters, including such standardisations as program length, volume, subject taboos, the use of silence, restricted playlists.
E.g.s
Orson Wells – War of the Worlds.
Artaud – Pour en finir avec le jugement de dieu (1947)
Of relevance to my work, is the means by which the differences by which radio art and sound art can be distinguished. Key works in this area are Radical Radio by R.M. Schaefer (1987), and ‘Towards a Definition of Radio Art (19xx).
“Radio Art is not Sound Art, nor is it Music. It is Radio”.
“Sound Art and Music are not Radio Art just because they are broadcast on Radio”.
How can these efforts to delineate radio art practice be used to articulate similar efforts in sound art?
Keywords: Kunstradio, Austria, New American Radio.
n.b Both of these work within state infrastructure. What is the significance of this?
e.g. Negativeland – Over the Edge – KPFA, Berkeley, California.
Byrne goes on to consider how web streaming has suggested new strategies and possibilities for the medium of audio broadcast. There are questions; is internet streaming Radio Art? Is it a new form? It certainly is not radio. Let us consider the similarities and differences between the two.
This can be much expanded using Shaefer, and the Micro Radio Manifesto, Italy.
Traditional Radio
Web Broadcast
Single site
Multi-site streams
Regulated
Unregulated
Monologue
Dialogue / Trialogue
Diatope
Polytope
1 hour format
Long duration
Assimilated
Isolated
Owned
Shared
Promoting
Communing
Speakered
Screened
Through Air
Through Wires
Populist
Specialist
Questions – site of reception of both? Listening environments
Keywords
‘Radio Polyphony’ – The Thing, New York
RadioNetz, Berlin
Reboot.fm
WPS1
RadioDays
post.thing.net
Locus Sonus – audio art research group
Art Dirt Redux
Bitforms – podcast
Whitney Biennial mashup.
There is much of interest in this section, and it moves some way to explain the frustration and annoyance I felt at Hanson’s presentation. His view that the studio as object of discourse as relevant and of interest, reveals itself as an ill-informed and obsolete view of sound practice. Issues of portability, and the very examples of artists demystifying their workspaces that he presented, indicate an alternative position.
dematerialisation
influence of Fluxus, land art, Kubisch working in situ.
Sound art for mobile phones – who presented this – get paper from Bill
Community initiatives
While the artist studio as a trope may well be in evidence in the works he presented, their relevance, and interest is limited in scope, and represents an historically entrenched position, showing little understanding of current practice.
Year: 2006
Location: Bargehouse Gallery, Oxo Tower, South Bank, London,England
Worktype: Puppet Performance / Immersive Environment
Materials: trumpet, loops, electric guitar, puppets, lights, candles, bare feet, voice, chocolate, oranges, slide projection, multichannel audio.
Info: with Barbara Fuchs
Work Details
A sound composition created for a multi-channel performance/installation which took place over three weeks in the Bargehouse Gallery. Visitors were asked to remove their shoes, and led into a darkened environment by candle light. The single female performer guided visitors through a multisensory immersive environment.
Initial Proposal
A micro-theatrical performance / installation that combines elements of puppetry, sound art, theatre and music. The artists create an intimate environment stimulating the audiences’ senses of smell, taste, touch, sound and sight. Leading the attention of the spectator towards small details. Talking suitcases, taste tests, feeling between your toes,
Taking a small audience through an experience and back to its beginning. The fragmented story conjures dreamlike images and situations that enthrall and the audience is magically drawn into the scene.
The piece deals with the themes of refinding childhood, and asking basic questions, inspiring the imagination of the audience. Taking them through a close, intimate, almost personal experience. Coming close, leading the audience around not just by touch, but also sound, smell and taste. A gentle path where they can focus on small things, and perhaps refind a long-forgotten part of themselves.
Being small in a big world. Being safe. Being able to be like a child, just to look and feel and letting experiences occur close to you, not having to act from your own account, just letting things happen.The small details and magical things.
The audience feels their bodies, their ears, their skin, all of their senses again. The piece aims to draw attention to all of their senses. To challenge their imaginations, they are given something to taste and they imagine something, they can smell something and imagine something. It makes them go inward somehow. Finding your senses again. A safe, womb-space. Warm and quiet and dark.
Very personal experience, everyone in the audience will have a personal experience. Leaving the performance with something in their mouth, each one different. A taste with a lable attached to it – and orange with ‘what does this sound like’. Noise and heat and power, an force and fire, the sun, heat again, running, fighting, shouting, strength. (B.Fuchs)
Performance time: 20min show. Audience of 2- 10.
Year: 2005
Location: Arnos Grove, London.England
Worktype: Community and Schools Sound / Recyling Project
Materials: junk drum percussion, pot drums, shakers, flutes, voices, costume, sculptures, song, children, parent, staff and locals.
Work Details
Commissioned by Enfield Arts Unit, Enfield Council, North London. A week-long series of workshops in three different primary schools. Working with sculptors and costume designers, a procession performance was devised, based around a simple composed canon, able to be performed by children between the ages of 6 and 11. The event was structured around a tale from Mexican folklore, itself presented to the students as a soundpiece. This extract splices the narrative with the canon, as originally conceived, and the final realization by the school children as performed in a public park.
Proposal
Imagine 3 processions of costumed and masked primary pupils winding their way towards each other. Each procession contains representations one of the following elemental forces – SUN, WIND, or RAIN – each procession will be accompanied by pupils playing self-made instruments from recycled materials.
They converge in a park, within which pupils have created a sculpture trail along which the processions move. Their destination? A central meeting place, based around 3 larger dome sculptures also created by the students.
The three elemental processions gather around the central domes and create a celebratory and joyful storm of music, costume and sculpture.
The event ends in the early evening as dusk falls, with floating candle lanterns being floated along a little stream. As they disperse their beautiful light along the waterway, the pupils, parents, artists, teachers and community groups melt away into the night.
It is our intention to allow pupils, staff and parents from neighbouring schools to work together on an inclusive arts project which benefits the whole community of the Arnos Grove area. Using sound, light, costumes and masks, and instrument- making to transform a public space into a magical wonderland
The artists involved have a great deal of experience in facilitating workshops, working with young people and creating inclusive public events.
Schools Involved
Our Lady Of Lourdes Primary
Garfield Primary
Bowes Primary
Workshops – Skills taught / Topics covered
Following close collaboration on a number of projects, we can offer the following to the participating schools:
mask making
costume making
needlework
recycled instrument design
percussion workshop
sculpture – interacting with sound / light
wire making skills
environmental awareness
citizenship skills
Artists Involved / Project Roles
This group of artists have worked together on a wide range of projects – with schools and communities both in the U.K. and abroad. We are highly motivated, professional and responsible.
SUBORG LTD
J Milo Taylor – Lead Artist / Instrument Making / Co-ordinator
Suborg’s role will be the instrument making and percussion workshops, and to provide co-ordination and administrative support to the project. Working with primary pupils, instruments will be constructed from recycled materials, teaching the pupils the art of creative thinking, positive problem solving and the fundamentals of rhythm.
LIGHT AND COLOUR WORKSHOP
Tammara Mattingly – Lead Artist / Sculpture / Co-ordinator
Zoë White – Sculpture / Workshop Facilitator
The Light and Colour Workshop has great experience in facilitating workshops and installations with schools and community groups throughout the North London area. They are driven to share their joy in their work and to inspire vulnerable and excluded members of the community with an Edmonton-based Arts/learning studio. Their work combines light and sculpture to create beautiful objects accessible to all.
Tammara’s role as lead artist will be one of co-ordination of festival and facilitating the sculpture workshops. Zoë White will be working in conjunction with Tamarra– the sculptural side of their work will be in two strands:
1) Parent/teacher workshop
Introduction to sculptural skills / individual pieces.
Participants will be learning new skills and how to work with new materials (e.g. coloured wires, theatrical gels, tin cans, plastic bottles). Each participant will create their own small sculpture that interacts with one of the central elements. These will become the objects that line the sculptural trail and lead the procession to the central meeting area.
2) Collaborative work on central domes. The focus point of the procession will be three domes based around the elemental themes:
Sun dome – using material such as coloured gels, coloured wire. Imagine a sundial – i.e. the dome as an object that will cast shadows, projects coloured light and movement of light – ever-changing as the earth moves around the sun.
Wind dome – using material with reflective surfaces the smallest breeze will cause this structure to shimmer in the wind. The reflective flickering light marking the movement of the winds circulating within our environment.
Rain dome – by using water and cascading containers water will flow along the outside of this sculpture. Places where the water may rest or be channelled to create a flowing sound that will be calming and magical.
Pupils’ work will be incorporated around a durable and robust aluminium preconstructed frame. (Dimensions 1.5m high, 3m diameter, and 1.5m radius). Each dome can be split into two halves, creating special spaces for pupils to gather for story-telling, future workshops etc.
These structures will be permanent and portable; after the event, the domes will be moved from the public park and one installed in the grounds of each participating school, thus improving each schools environment, and giving them a permanent record of their activities during the project.
OPALA GROUP
Opala Group was founded in 2000 in London by 5 Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design graduates.
Opala works in three distinct areas:
Theatre Performance Development . We create plays, and make theatre workshops for children and grown-ups. This summer we took part in a unique and fantastic week long festival in Morocco, in which Suborg also played a part. We ran mask and costume making workshops and a street procession for the children of the town.
The Bridging Cultures Initiative facilitates cultural exchange through projects of various artistic content (exhibitions, festivals, play readings etc).
The Film Room is dedicated to promoting young film-makers. Evan Manifattori is a very talented and original film-maker with many outstanding short films to his name. We propose to film the workshops and the actual event, and to provide the involved parties with a high quality document of the project.
COSTUME AND MASK MAKING WORKSHOPS
Ada Gadomski – Costume Design / Mask Making / Procession Leader
Barbara Fuchs – Costume Design / Mask Making / Procession Leader
Magdalena Canals Halewijn – Costume Design / Mask Making / Procession Leader
We have worked on a number of projects involving children throughout the years, both in the UK and abroad (Morocco, Spain, Yugoslavia, Austria). The workshops are designed to develop creativity and imagination through 3D expression of universal themes such as animals, seasons, fairy tale characters, elements etc.
We work with recycled materials that raise the awareness of environmental issues and help challenge the creativity in children by using known materials in unusual ways, e.g. cardboard boxes, plastic, packaging, wire etc.
Children will also learn about basic artistic techniques and materials through use of paint, brushes, glue, card, paper, scissors, staplers, painting on fabric, finger sawing, costume construction, etc.
At the end of a session each child will have created a mask and a costume of sun, wind or rain, to be worn during the procession. They will also carry flags and banners with the same elemental representations.
At the end of procession and the floating lantern ritual, children can keep their outfits and take them home, or the schools may decide to exhibit them on site.
Project documentation. Evan Manifattori – Film director. Camera.
We also propose to film one session from each school, and provide examples of work done during each of the workshops. The event will also be filmed and edited into a 15-25 minute documentary DVD of the event,
This work will be carried out to the highest standards and provide all the participating schools and community groups with an enduring record of their participation.
Club of Rome
Anal garden
White Rabbit
The Man From Uranus
Joe Zeitlin