Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
_____________
Céleste Boursier-Mougenotfrom here to ear (2014)
A sonic arrangement featuring songbirds and electric guitars, from here to ear consists of more than seventy zebra finches, enchanting little chaffinches from central Australia, “performing” in the Square. These tuneful and gregarious birds settle in groups on unusual perches: a dozen amplified electric guitars and basses ready to receive the finches, which, as they fly about on the strings, play pre-recorded rock, punk and heavy-metal chords. While the sounds they generate overlie their own songs, the composition of claws on electric guitars that they improvise is governed by the beating of the birds’ wings and by the movements of visitors as they walk around the gallery.
_____________
Otomo Yoshihidehyper wr player – without records hi-fi version (2009)
What is the sound that a record player has in itself? Adopting today’s state-of-the-art technologies to the full, this work “without record player” is based on the concept of “without records,” which uses only old portable record players and has been evolved through stages. This hyper-version performs deconstruction and reconstruction in the current perspective, taking away the recorded media (records) of a record player, the origin of recording media.
_____________
Otomo Yoshihide ＋ Yasutomo Aoyamawithout records (2007)
In this installation, there are about a hundred portable record players without records, but equipped with unusual materials such as corrugated paper or iron. In the space of the foyer, turntables scattered everywhere, high and low, right and left, produce noises by the rotating friction, resonating in multilayer. Quiet, low-fi sounds form groups and change the entire image of sounds. When visitors move the position of a player or replace the needle, an additional new world of sound appears.
____________
Chelpa FerroOctógono (2009)
In this installation, the group Chelpa Ferro, formed by Barrão, Luiz Zerbini and Sergio Mekler presents a musical programme in the form of a large sound speaker that goes up and down, entering and rising above a receptacle, in a continuous movement, during 8 hours, provoking different hearings in each level.
____________
Florian HeckerEvent, Stream, Object (2010)
Hecker's project Event, Stream, Object creates an unusual listening environment to manipulate one's perception of sound. Hecker's multilayered composition is supported by a system of eight MM-4XP loudspeakers, each conveying a sequence of synthetic sounds. The miniature loudspeakers are suspended from the ceiling, with bent reflectors in front of the them to emphasize the way sounds rebound and are diverted, thus heightening the complexity of the experience. "In my works, I have to place sound sources at distinct positions, where seeing them becomes a crucial aspect for the multimodal experience of these pieces," says Hecker. "Event, Stream, Object dramatizes an uncoupling of sound sources in the space and the locations from which we perceive them to come."
____________
Carsten Nicolaiunidisplay (2014)
The installation unidisplay employs visual semiotics to examine various theories of perception. The work operates with a number of modules of different visual effects that interfere with the viewers’ perception. The installation unfolds against a long projection wall in a mirrored room, thus visually expanding like a mise en abyme. The basic visual – made up of graphic translations of various units of time measurement – acts as a world clock and evokes the notion of intertwining time, between past, present, and future.
____________
Nathaniel MellorsHippy Dialectics (2010)
Hippy Dialectics is an animatronic sculpture. The sculpture’s two heads are connected by hair and each repeats a line from a moment in a script where Daddy is losing the plot—”Listen mate, I’m having a few issues. Small, administrative problems really, not a big deal ... ” It is partially influenced by Pasolini’s 1968 classic Theorem, in which a seemingly angelic guest (Terence Stamp) arrives at a bourgeois household and acts upon individual desires to seduce each of its members, from the patriarchal father to the maid. Other influences include Beckett and the theatre of the absurd, and British TV drama and sitcoms of the 1970s and 80s.
____________
Tristan PerichMicrotonal Wall (2011)
Microtonal Wall is made up of 1,500 very simple one-bit speakers, tuned individually to create an intricately varied continuum of pitch, rendering this twenty-five-foot wall a spectrum of sound. Perich has explained, “Each listener's exploration of that aural space shapes what they hear, from the totality of white noise (from a distance), to the single frequency of each speaker (up close).” This near-endless variation “opens the scope of the piece to the entire universe, since only from an infinite distance would we be equidistant to each speaker, though in that case they would also have zero volume, and we would be very far from home.”
____________
Kevin BeasleyStrange Fruit (Pair I) and (Pair II) (2015)
Strange Fruit (Pair I) and (Pair II) incorporate the sounds of the museum into sculptures made from sneakers, foam, resin, and other materials. For this performance, the artist used the sounds recorded by these objects to build environmental and experimental compositions.
____________
Lyota YagiSound Sphere (2011)
Cassette tape's magnetic strips are wound into balls. Balls can be played.
_____________
Zhang DingEnter the Dragon (2015)
Zhang Ding’s solo exhibition and performance, named after the celebrated Bruce Lee film, is one of a kind. Zhang transformed the ICA theatre into a ‘mutating sound sculpture’, layering the room with reflective surfaces, suspended sound panels and a series rotating mirrored sculptures positioned next to two music stages that formed a disorienting maze.
_____________
Keita OnishiForest and Trees (2012)
"Forest and Trees" is an installation of moving images and sounds employing 12 digital photo frames. The animation and its sound effects playing through the internal speakers of each frame gradually come together to form music.
______________
Zimoun138 prepared dc-motors, cotton balls, cardboard boxes (2011)
Zimoun creates complex kinetic sound sculptures by arranging industrially produced parts according to seemingly simple rules. Using motors, wires, ventilators, etc.., he creates closed systems that develop their own behavior and rules similarly to artificial creatures. Once running, they are left to themselves and go through an indeterminable process of (de)generation. These quasi autonomous creatures exist in an absolutely synthetic sphere of lifeless matter. However, within the precise, determinist systems creative categorioes suddenly reappear, such as deviation, refusal and transcience out of which complex patterns of behavior evolve.
____________
Christy MatsonMovements (2008)
Christy Matson’s interactive installation Movements produces the grainy, clacking tones of a working loom when viewers press their hands on three monumental, wall-hung jacquard weavings, intersecting both the act of listening and the act of touching.
_____________
Wang Chung-KunbeTube-6set (2012)
Born in 1982, Wang Chung-Kun is one of the rising stars in Media art in Taiwan. He has created various forms of machinery that have consistently maintained an intriguing purity and peculiar sense of beauty. As the viewers approach, these machines operate on their own untiringly. Sound-making, switching on and off, exhaling, spinning or twinkling, they can simply do more than a single action. Rather, they have their own rhythm variation, as if they have a life of their own.
_____________
Bartholomäus TraumeckYears (2011)
A record player that plays slices of wood. Year ring data is translated into music. A tree’s year rings are analysed for their strength, thickness and rate of growth. This data serves as basis for a generative process that outputs piano music. It is mapped to a scale which is again defined by the overall appearance of the wood (ranging from dark to light and from strong texture to light texture). The foundation for the music is certainly found in the defined ruleset of programming and hardware setup, but the data acquired from every tree interprets this ruleset very differently.
______________
Mark LeckeyBigBoxStatueAction (2003)
This is a piece I made in around 2003 called Big Box Statue Action… at Tate Britain; this is a statue by Jacob Epstein called Jacob and the Angel. I’ve been going to Tate Britiain for a long time, and it’s always there. They’re always shunting it around, they’re never quite sure where to put it. I always found it very alienating … it has this power and bulk and it’s such an obstinate thing… What I ended up finding is that it speaks a language, i.e. of Modernism, that means nothing to me. I can’t connect with that thing [but] I wanted to address [it]. I made a sound system, because I always loved them as objects that made sound, and made a sound that in itself is sculptural.
_____________
Dominique PetitgandJe m'en vais (2009)
Dominique Petitgand presents a piece that articulates various relationships with speech (monologue, dictation, screams or cacophonies), language (the voices in French are accompanied by their English translations), editing (fragmentations, synchronicities or temporal gaps), space (playing of distances, mixing, resonances).
_____________
David McConnellPhonosymphonic Sun (2008- 2009)
"Phonosymphonic Sun" is a sound sculpture/installation by David McConnell. Each phonograph was rebuilt vertically and the turntables, now painted in a colorfield array, spun continually as each speaker was repurposed to play individual instruments in an 18 song soundtrack written, recorded and performed by McConnell in 2008- 2010. This score was created with rare antique instruments, audio devices and naturally occurring sounds.
_____________
Christian MarclaySurround Sound (2015)
This is a video of people in the Paula Cooper Gallery in NYC enjoying Christian Marclay's Surround Sound, a floor-to-ceiling, wraparound video installation. The piece explores the punchy graphic sound effects of comic books (think "POW,""CRACK," etcetera). It is a silent video of a visual trope meant to suggest an auditory experience, making it a work of multiple translations, among other things.
*
p.s. RIP: the great Tony Conrad. Here's my post about and featuring his work from about six weeks ago, if you missed it. ** David Ehrenstein, Hi. That's a nice way to put it. I read that Slate review, interesting, and nice to see Violette Leduc getting supportive attention in English. ** Tosh Berman, Hi, Tosh. Right? My pleasure. I was hoping there'd be some caffeine in that post. ** Jamie McMorrow, Hi, Jamie. I'm good, thanks. Weekend wasn't too shabby on my end. Cool, glad the Knotts post did some jogging. He was kind of a joy. Thank you for the Stewart Home event report. Yeah, he seems to be really into standing on his head these days. Damn, I wish I could have seen that. Ha ha, I can imagine that The Pastels must be pretty solidly what they are by now. I too can get really into pop song craft sometimes, and there are bands I love because they're trying to ace and experiment with(in) the strictures of that perfect pop thing. My favorite of all faves, Robert Pollard, has this all-encompasing-seeming knowledge of what the pop song can be, and he's always trying to nail it by reinventing it as radically but respectfully as he can in different ways from the inside out. There are tons of examples. The first three New Pornographers albums are, to me, sublime examples of nailing that model and twisting it just so. And so many others. I do indeed like Ben Wallers, yes. Super interesting artist. That would have been fascinating. That's one of those things are so curious about him, that it could either be Pink Floyd or Rihanna. I like that name Largs. Strange. France has towns whose names are kind of like that. I hope it wasn't too bleak. Love back from yours truly! ** Steevee, Hi, Steve. Fascinating about your interview with Roberto Minervini. Wow, yeah, that's super interesting. Thanks a lot for leaking that here. ** Dóra Grőber, Hi! Yeah, with friends of mine, it does seem like either they finish their thesis in time or ten years later or something with hardly any in-between. Jamie Stewart as a person is actually the sweetest, most unweird guy you can imagine. A total doll, as they say. Very cool about the zine exhibition. There are few sweeter things than when zine makers get together to share and show and sell their things. There's something really so heartening and inspiring when that happens for some reason. My weekend was good. Got needed work done mostly. I saw a theater piece that was interesting and smart and had some great things in it but was kind of disappointing overall. 'Unusual Weather Phenomena Project' by Thomas Luz. Here's the trailer. I almost went to see a magician perform, but I decided to work rather take my chances. It was all fine. I hope yours worked wonders. Any magic in your Monday? ** Sypha, Hi, James. That's not hard to believe. I grew up watching 'The Andy Griffith Show' fairly religiously. Cool, I'll go get the Boy Destroyer reprint. Everyone, here's Sypha with a great, no lose, no sweat free offer. Take him up on it. Him: 'Today marks the release day for the deluxe edition of the long out-of-print Boy Destroyer "Rise Horus Rise" LP, which was first released on my Mauve Zone Recordings netlabel back in March 2007 (it was in fact the label's first release). As with all MZR releases it can be listened to/downloaded for free here.' ** Jonathan Bryant, Hi, man. Aw, that's a super nice story about R wanting to be a Don Knotts when he grew up. I hope he made it. He probably didn't, right? But he's probably just as happy now that he didn't, right? Sorry for all the loose assumptions. I did, no surprise, know about and immediately stream the Pollard/Bun E. track! It's an excellent cover of a wonderful song from Pollard's 1999 album 'Speak Kindly of Your Volunteer Fire Department', one of my favorites of his many solo albums. Yay! Thanks a lot! Stuff good? ** Bill, Thank you, Bill. The Matton post is really soon. Whoa, that piece you linked to looks very interesting at first glance. I'll go further with it and send the link on to Gisele. Thank you, buddy. Do you know and/or like or not like or etc. any of the artists or works in the post today? I was wondering that when I was making it. ** Thomas Moronic, Hi, T. I've always sort of thought that dream project of John's was one of those 'dream projects' that he talked about in order to be entertaining rather being a project that he actually seriously intended to try to make. Yeah, you're right, Don Knotts had a very particular genius, I think. Yeah, very gutted about Tony Conrad. Stephen was on the bill at the ... I forget the name ... music festival last week where Conrad was going to give what would have been his last performance if he hadn't gotten too sick. Stephen flew out there a few days early to see that. Anyway, huge loss, so sad. ** James, Hi, James. Glad you loved the Knotts fest. Yes, you are correct about the Crews post. It's coming up very soon, maybe even tomorrow, I can't remember. Interesting about your editing gig. Huh. I love editing, as you know, even the exhaustion that entails. Druggy. I hope it's an interesting book. That certainly helps. I don't know what 'Creep' is. I'll look it up. My new novel is going well. I'm still finding my way back into it, but the lights are all green so far. I do address George Miles in the book, yes. He's one of the people it's about. At the moment, there is one surviving section from the abandoned novel I tried to write about George in the new novel. I think it'll stay, but I'm not totally sure yet. I don't have a title for the novel yet. I have ideas. Like I said before, the title will need to be 'Zac's ... something' because it's part of the cycle of books I'm writing for Zac along with the already existing gif books. Sometimes a title comes very early for me, and sometimes it comes later. Both ways work. ** Brendan, Hey. The 4th isn't so big, so wherever your hotel is, it'll a short(ish) walk from me. Okay, I'll start putting my Paris thinking cap on. Fun! And thanks a million for being willing to realize the items on my LA wish list. Thank you, B! ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi, Ben. Cool. Happy for you about Leicester City. I think I even read something about that. Fingers already crossed five games ahead. ** Chilly Jay Chill, Hi, Jeff. Thank you very, very much about my Chateau work. That's very cool that your wife's great-uncle wrote 'The Incredible Mr. Limpet'! That's totally wild. That's the best film he was in, I think, and I think many people who take Knotts seriously agree. I've heard of 'Embrace of the Serpent', but that's all. Hm. I won't rush. Anything film wise that inspired me? Patric Chiha's new film 'Brothers of the Night' is very, very good. If it ends up getting a US release, you should watch for it. I made an upcoming post about Dominique Sanda, and that occasioned my watching this very strange and kind of amazing musical film she's in by Jacques Demy called 'Une chambre en ville'. That was interesting. And re: another upcoming guest-post that someone made for the blog about overlooked avant-garde films, I watched this really beautiful short film by Standish Lauder called 'Necrology' and this also very interesting Marco Ferreri film called 'Dillinger is Dead'. Enjoy your time with Ben Marcus. Please give him my respects if the moment arises. ** Chris Dankland, Hi, Chris! Awesome that the Knotts post hit you the right way. He's pretty amazing, I think, right, with or without a conducive context. Nice that you got to the Jurassic Technology museum. That guy whose artwork it is, David Wilson, is really a genius. Oh, Paige Gresty. I like her writing. That's cool. She wrote a film for Franco? Wow. No, I don't think I know Abraham Smith. Huh. Okay, I'll go use that Vimeo link in a few minutes. Thanks, Chris. I do so envy you're being at AWP. I would really love to meet all these writers whose work I like so much, like Juliet and Scott and and on and on. Beach Sloth! It costs $200 to go to the book fair? Really?! That's insane. It used to be totally free. I always went when I was in LA, but even when it was free, sometimes I ended up thinking, Meh, why did I do that? That's completely ridiculous. Wtf?! I do know and really like Oranssi Pazuzu. Cool that you like them too. Yeah, they have a specialness in their blackness. It's really great to see you, Chris! ** Misanthrope, Oh, no, I think Don Knotts had a very specific kind of genius, I totally agree. Ugh, taxes, stress, ugh. Whoa, LPS is turning into a twink! ** Gary gray, Hi, Gary. He did. If you check him out, I would start with 'The Incredible Mr. Limpet' if that's easy. Oh, okay, about 'snax party'. I don't think I like that name. That 'x' is really irritating in that context for some reason. New with me? Mm, just mostly getting work done that I need to get done. Hanging out. Some book stuff re: my novel that's just coming out here. Things are good. And you? ** H, Hi, h. Ha ha, you were second to last. It sounds fascinating to me. Your work and its angle. I'm sure it's great. Thank about the inspiration thing. 'Very queer & secretful': now I'm very curious what Mike did. Maybe he'll spare the blog a moment to explain or wax charismatically about that. I hope you get to watch our film too. I don't know. We're trying, but NYC doesn't seem very interested or game or brave or I don't know. Not looking good, but we're still trying. ** Raymond, Hi, Raymond. That is a great bit. Thanks, man. Hope stuff is going really well with you. Is it? ** Right. There are some really good things in the post today if you have the time and inclination to it explore it and find them. See you tomorrow.