[Connection] Sound Art Lesson

What sounds do you hear?

Subject: 11^th and 12^th grade students

Objective: To have students think about visual vs. audio viewing experience and explore different perspectives of presenting narratives or messages. Students will learn to transcribe their concrete visual data to abstract audio representation.  

1.  Choose a painting you are interested that depicts people (more than two) in a specific background (could be indoor, outdoor, city, or countryside).

2.  Write down what you observed in the painting regarding the activity and the environment. Describe the sound your people might be making or the sound you might hear from the particular environment.

3.  Use a recorder to record and create the sounds you just described. Edit them using audacity to create an “audio narrative” that will re-represent the painting you choose.

4.  Create a small installation with your sound piece. You are free to display anything you want that will complement your audio except the actual painting.

[Reflection] Sound as Artistic Medium

During our in-class project with sound editing I find sound to be a very interesting medium. First of all, it is 3-dimensional and the viewing (or hearing) experience is very different from what we perceived as conventional art medium. Since we focused so much on “visual art” the use of sound really changes our perception. We are left more interpretation and mystery because we can rely on our ears. While we “hear” we are also “looking” for clues and thus engaging our full body.

Sound editing is particularly interesting because unlike visual art where I may be dictated to present a specific image in my mind and worrying about problems such as the composition not coming through and the materials not right, audio art is more experimental and less restricted – it offers unlimited opportunities to play with and it is more fun to manipulate using different methods as well. It can also be combined and presented in various form including recording, installation, performance etc. I think young people will be drawn to sound art because it walks between fine and pop art. It may be more attractive to young people because it has the elements of what they’re interested in: technology and pop culture.

[Sound Artist] Ryoji Ikeda

Ryoji Ikeda is a Japanese sound artist who often works with low frequency sounds and noise, attempting to challenge the definition of sound. He tries to present sound in its pure and raw state and according to him, “a high frequency sound is used that the listener becomes aware of only upon its disappearance" in which I find the quote very interesting. What is it that we hear and how are we experiencing sound. 

Test Pattern is a system that converts any type of data (text, sounds, photos and movies) into barcode patterns and binary patterns of 0s and 1s. Through its application, the project aims to examine the relationship between critical points of device performance and the threshold of human perception.

Ikeda works in various forms such as installation, live performance, publication, concert, and recording. Some of his works involve large scale and interactive component. One of his projects from last year, Test Pattern [100 m version], features a giant indoor space with sound installation and light projection creating a new landscape in which the audience becomes active participant and part of the artwork. It is using technology to challenge traditional viewing experience; instead f silently looking at an artwork on the wall, Ikeda is doing something opposite by adding sounds and making the artwork all around the space. Ikeda has engaged the audience in this new audiovisual viewing experience and the result is quite powerful.

Ryoji Ikeda

http://www.ryojiikeda.com/

[Sound Artist] Yuri Landman

Yuri Landman is a Dutch experimental luthier and musician; he is known for making experimental string instrument for many artists. He was in a band but since he was not classically trained, he started to build his own instruments to play. One of his most famous instruments is the Moodswinger, a twelve-string electric zither with an additional third bridge. He later continued to build more prepared guitar for different musicians such as the Springtime, Home Swinger, Twister guitar, Tafelberg,  Burner guitar, which are all variations based on string instrument (guitar). These instruments make it possible to play every note of the equal tempered scale, and produce multiple notes at the same time. 

Aside from building custom made instruments Landman also began a DIY workshop in 2009 (Home Swinger project) where people will build their copy of the instrument and present a performance afterward. Landman’s instruments are unique because they are designed for specific group and purpose. By adding more strings, though these guitars resemble the appearance of a traditional instrument (guitar, percussion, etc.) they are played differently and can be applied in pop music to create different sound effects appropriate for the stage. These experiemental instruments challenge the boundary of conventional instruments and our perception on the relationship between sound and music.

[Project] Sound Editing

A sound mix of : water dripping, heater, microwave, and eating from a cup

[Project] Scan Art - Sweet & Sour

Materials:

plastic wrap, ketchup, honey, mustard, orange jelly, walnuts, pepper, chicken powder, facial wash, hair cream, and body wash.

I want to play with unconventional materials and therefore I brought in lots of fluid ingredients. I enjoy painting on top of the scanner but in order to protect the machine I have to have plastic wrap beneath which creates rather interseting effects for my imgery. I also played with the setting of the scanner to try different color saturation, contrast, and tones.  

[Project] Revisiting Digital Painting

I really had fun with drawing/painting digitally during last assignment. Last time I was mainly exploring the different effects and textures that I felt my works were incomplete (more like sketches). For this time I wanted to challenge myself to imitate effects of tradtional medium through digital media. I still used tablet but the software has changed to Painter X. I want to create effect of chalk pastel and watercolor and I find working digitally really is a plus because I get to try out different combination on the same surface before I find the right formula. If I were painting/drawing on a piece of paper I will have to plan everything out first or I ended up wasting lots of paper and materials. 

[Connection] Lesson with Scanning

For the lesson of scanography I would like to work with 10^th grade student (group of 18). I’ll first start with a dialogue discussing the function and characteristics of a scanner and ask how might students use it. The lesson will be conducted in groups: students will separate into group of 3 and each team will be given a specific task.

Group 1: create an image that demonstrates “movement”

Group 2: create an image that demonstrates “emotion”

Group 3: create an image that demonstrates “relationships”

Group 4: create an image that demonstrates “transformation”

Group 5: create an image that demonstrates “time”

Group 6: create an image that demonstrates “space”

The learning objectives of the lesson is to have the students

1) work collaboratively and learn to communicate with each other

2) explore different possibilities with unconventional material/media

3) begin to think about abstract ideas and ways to represent it visually

The themes I chose are based on adolescents’ development, in which 10^th grade students are beginning to make peach with their biological change and are gradually moving towards complex thinking. After creating their images the 6 groups will do a short presentation on their creative process and result. 

[Scan Artist] Rebecca Wild

Rebecca Wild has been working with scan art for several years. The way she creates her work is usually spontaneous and experimental; testing things out repetitively until something unique happens. In one of her projects, Musical Traces, she has experimented with using musical device to bend light and replicate a visual sound wave through scanner. In the other project Abstraction, she tried painting on top of the scanner and allowing the paint to flow freely so that the paint becomes the subject instead the material.

Wild's use of scanner is innovating and the effect she creates displays movement and fluidity. Her work has a tactile quality and through painting on top of scanner the paint (water droplet) creates a surreal effect different from that of digital manipulation. By using scanner as the canvas she makes use of the light (during scanning) to create layers so that her imagery displays a 3D quality.

"Most artists who use a scanner are seen as photographers as they use it as a form of camera but being a painter at heart, I see the scanner as a canvas that can be explored, altered and worked into with the objects I use." -- Rebecca Wild

[Scan Artist] Frank Luna

Frank Luna is a Texas born artist who is originally trained in film editing and is experience in production, video editing and motion graphics.  He has worked on video installations for several museums and forayed into art direction after he moved to New York.

Frank uses human feature as his subject and object to scan. His body images convey mystery and a sense of danger (in which the use of scanner might be harmful to human body). The contrast he creates through color and detail really captures tension and attention that invites the audience to further explore.

The fact that these images show the trace of being pressed against the surface differentiate themselves from photographs makes it even more interesting. With uncompromising intimacy, Luna confronts the eye with pore-gazing glimpses of flattened cheeks, twisted noses, wet pressing lips, and indistinct hollows and curves-only to leave one hanging on the edge of the visible.

[Video Artist] Mariko Mori

Mariko Mori is one the most visible Japanese artists internationally; she works exclusively with sculpture, video and photography installation. Her works often juxtapose Eastern philosophy with Western culture; pop culture with traditional Japanese identity. Through computer-generated photographs and large scale multi-media installations, she merges art and technology to create a dialogue between spirituality and the materialistic world. She also focuses on the topic of harmonious coexistence of man and nature, conflicts between artificial and natural. I find her artistic exploration very interesting as she tries to find balance between technology (mechanic and cold) with that of nature (psychological and organic). 

Journey to Seven Light Bay, Primal Rhythm, 2011.
Video with sound; 5 minutes, 14 seconds.

"Technology is helping to make a dream realize much easier. Pre-historical people use their hand and other stones to carve an axe, technology, it’s astound to create art. I would really would like children to discover and learn to connect with our nature and express idea through technology." -- Mariko Mori

[Video Artist] Mona Hatoum

Mona Hatoum is a Palestinian artist who works unconventionally with diverse media, including installations, sculpture, video, photography and works on paper. Her work often appears poetic yet delivers strong political messages. Hatoum started her career making visceral video and performance work in the 1980s that focused with great intensity on the body. Since the beginning of the 1990s, her work moved increasingly towards large-scale installations that aim to engage the viewer in conflicting emotions of desire and revulsion, fear and fascination.

 

Corps étranger (1994)
350 x 300 x 300 cm
Video installation with cylindrical wooden structure, 
video projector, video player, amplifier and 4 speakers

      Corps étranger (detail)Photo: Philippe Migeat     

  

“There is nothing seductive about seeing green slime flowing inside the intestinal tubes, so it is in parts quite disgusting and frightening. For me it was more about issues of surveillance and how we are watched and scrutinized constantly and how our boundaries are constantly invaded.” --Mona Hatoum

[Connection] Collaborative Project with Technology

By doing this group video editing work I realized that technology offers a huge opportunity to work collaboratively. Since it involves a more complex process and technical issue, it is rather time consuming. However, for our group we quickly decided each other’s role in which one member acts, the other responsible for prop, I am the director, and the last member being responsible for editing.

This collaborative process allows students to work together to engage in active communication, to develop problem solving skill, and to learn from each other’s strength. For example, through creating a video project, students first have to come to a unifying theme [communication]. After deciding the plan they will face technical/executing issue and this when they search for solutions through online resources or from peers and teachers [problem solving]. Lastly, each student is unique in his or her ability; a group collaboration like this allows them to learn from each other's skills and concepts that they may apply in the future [learning].

It is also important to note that compares to a collaborative project in traditional medium, technology possess an interesting quality and is more appealing to students. It is new, it is diverse and fun. Technology’s potential is yet to be explored and therefore it offers students various possibilities in terms of different artistic experiences. 

[Project] First Experience with Video Editing

My Inspiration: 

Daffodil flower opening time lapse

My Adaptation:

My approach is based on the concept of flip-page animation. 

Post production with MovieMaker to add title and music.

[Reflection] Lecture with Ebru Kurbak & Irene Posch

The Knitted Radio @ Eyebeam

I was very inspried by Irene and Ebru’s lecture on innovative use of technology in art. Particularly on the subject they choose – the clothes in which Ebru described it as an entity between the bodily self and the environment. It is interesting to see that technology itself, which was created in the first place to serve people’s need (functional) can be integrated with aesthetic responses. Instead of looking at a painting on the wall feeling distant, new media allows more physical interaction and the subject matter derives from the mundane making the art piece more accessible.

The other thing I find inspiring is the collaboration between Irene and Ebru. While Ebru comes from a more traditional artist background she was able to work with Irene, who has the more technical engineering background to create these pieces that may be produced commercially yet bares such strong critical message.