This week I need to do these things:
-type up rough draft of thesis paper
-go with Nick to that bridge
-document the works I haven’t yet
-get portfolio site together (and make it easy to update)
-continue working on EP
Archive for October, 2007
Some Thesis Plans
Sunday, October 28th, 2007It’s been a while
Sunday, October 28th, 2007A few weeks ago I was gonna add images, video and audio documentation of my recent works to my blog, but discovered this to be almost impossible. The image part wasn’t but the sound and video were, so I’m going to use this as an opportunity to work on my website. Over the next week or so I’ll be putting a simple portfolio site together and blog when it’s complete.
HardDisko
Sunday, October 7th, 2007
HardDisko is a wonderful sonic instillation, why didn’t I think of this?
Notes on a Crit
Sunday, October 7th, 2007So I had a crit in my video art class last friday and I found it especially inlightning because I got an outside perspective on interaction in art work.
An overwlming amount of students and the prof felt that when they go to a gallery they don’t like it when a work needs their interaction to be successful, they feel like it’s incomplete.
On the other hand i talked a bit after to several of my peers in the class and it seems that interaction with the audience, viewer etc. is fine, and in fact creative if used in musical performances.
The piece that was being crited was a performance where I played the Screaming Rainbow for 25 minutes. One student brought up and others agreed that it would be interesting to play with the Rainbow in other situations, play with using it as a sensor, since most of it’s music making elements are sensors (the photocell and FSR) and see what certain things (video and light and other images) sound like, and film this.
We also talked about repeatability of performance and live perferformance. One person was very intrigued with my hand motions using the Rainbow, and mentioned how gentle and sexual they seemed in a way, once this was said more similar comments followed.
The group was interested in seeing me do a live performance using effect pedals etc, and I have a fan who now wants to be my cinematographer, which is amazing.
From this crit 5 came up with a few ideas that the group mentioned and also from things the discussion made me think about. I want to expore possbly “writing” music for a photocell instrument in the form of video with changing colors and have several photocells in front of the screen, playing a screaming rainbow type instrument. This way it’s more an automatic music maker playing something I intended it to play, but will always sound different and never be quite the same because as people watch it and move by their motions will block light or reflected it and change the sound of the piece in subtle and not so subtle ways.
Oh and and several people wanted me to make a Theremin, I might now just.
Heima screening last night
Sunday, October 7th, 2007Alright, I’ve been letting this slide so, I ‘m updating today.
Last night, Peter dragged me to a showing of Heima (Icelandic for home) which is a documentary about Sigur Ros. The main focus of the film was documenting a series of free performances they played in small villages and towns all over Iceland. I really enjoyed the film. I didn’t know they were so creative, they make music using traditional instruments, as well as handmade instruments and Fisher Price toys. Featured in the documentary was a old man who makes instruments (that they buy) using found objects most of them from nature. Peter leaned over to me and said, “That’s you in fifty years.”
The way they look at their performances was very interesting, the’re performances, not shows. A lot of emphases was made on this. What also intrigued me was there composing process, they don’t write their music down, the four of them sit down with a room full of instruments, begin recording and play, until they find things that work and then just play over and over till they can repeat it. I don’t know how they do it, but they are amazing.
Oh and I had to include this, one of the places they performed in was in an old giant emptied water tank in an abandoned fish factory, that performance reminded me a lot of Pauline Oliveros and sounded so magical.
Heima will be released on DVD in November along with Sigur Ros new album.
www.sigur-ros.co.uk
www.hvarf-heim.com