Sunday 28 November 2010

Sculpture



Audiovisual duo Sculpture use video zoetrope record deck, tape loops, cassettes, samples, computer programming and lo-fi electronics, cross-fertilizing analogue and digital techniques to generate energetic amalgams. Live performances explore intuitive possibilities and unforseen permutations.


Dan Hayhurst: Music.

Reuben Sutherland: Animation

www.tapebox.co.uk

Wednesday 24 November 2010

Max Eastley


Max Eastley visited our university a few weeks ago to deliver a talk on his practice.


He has done a lot of work with sound sculptures in the natural environment using kinetic sound machines or the environmental forces of wind, streams and sea.  His sculptures seem to integrate really well with their environments and emphasise the natural forces in play whilst creating an interesting & affecting sonic addition.  

Monday 1 November 2010

Pipe no.1

We installed the piece at the elevator gallery last week - here are a few photos of what we did!



Checking out the space

On the phone to Benek in Cologne



Detail of existing pipe


We will place fake pipe next to existing one



Disassembled speaker system


Lots of other speaker parts!

Benek and the pipe!


Connecting MP3 player...


Almost ready...




Painting pipe...


Finished pictures to come soon or I will post them on my website.

Monday 27 September 2010

Elevator Gallery - Hidden Show

Benek & I recently put in a proposal for a new show at the Elevator Gallery which has been accepted! The theme of the show is 'hidden' and will take place in October.

...For our October exhibition at Elevator we plan to curate an almost invisable show. We are seeking artists to install work which is ither hidden, part of or extention of the existing structure/space, or partly visable. We are keen for artists to explore all mediums and senses including performance, smell and sound as well as other more traditional means. All areas of the gallery, the floor, wall, ceiling space, corrdoor, toilets and elevator may be used.

Whilst the work needs to be not visable when entering the gallery it needs to be visable enough so it can be 'found' by the viewer.

Our proposal:

The piece will take the form of a single white pipe which will stretch from floor to ceiling. Owing to the warehouse nature of the Elevator Gallery, the pipe will not seem out of place and will not be questioned by visitors upon first sight.

Concealed within the pipe will be 4-6 speakers running from top to bottom which will emit a sound at a level which would only be audible either when in close to proximity to the pipe or when one's ear is pressed up to it.

The Elevator Gallery is located on the fifth floor of a former chocolate factory and so we imagine the sound contained within the pipe to be like thick liquid moving up or down the pipe.

This piece comments on how places, things or people can sometimes become lost in the passage of time, their function and importance forgotten. Like the switch that you find when you move into a new house which seemingly has no purpose, a simple but perhaps once vital function may be forgotten about as everything else changes and moves on. It remains visible yet invisible at the same time.


I will post our progress as we try to figure out how to make it!!

Friday 6 August 2010

A Sound For Everyone

Inspiration Pad





By: Marc Thomasset

Project idea: book of diagrams of soundwaves? Presented in an 'artistic' / abstract way.

Wednesday 28 July 2010

Silvas Capitalis

Photo by Neil Clasper
Photo by Neil ClasperSimparch situated an iconic head, on the grounds of the Kielder forest, located near the Scottish border. Large enough to enter into with stairs to a 2nd floor, this large anthropomorphic offering was inspired by the Celtic gods of Britain whom are frequently anonymous and depicted merely by the head alone.

In the relatively new and cultivated monoculture of Kielder's "working" forest, a giant head sits knowingly watching and listening to the nuances of daily forest life - the creatures, the wind, and the roar of harvesting equipment.

>> Simparch website

This is situated near my home in Scotland. I haven't had a chance to visit it yet but will go next time I am at home & will observe how sound functions in this sculpture. I like the idea of the enlarged ear trumpets inside the head (as suggested in the illustration) where you could sit and experience the sound scape of the forest from a different perspective.

I want to do some kind of sound intervention...

Nigel Helyer

" My approach to the sonic domain has always been informed by a Sculptor’s perspective which emphasises the experiential nature of sounds, linking them to the dynamic, material events that produce them and situating them within the environments that contain and propagate them." - http://www.sonicobjects.com/index.php/projects/more/sculpture_in_the_vineyards/

Lotus





The audio component of this project employs simple and robust solid-state digital audio and solar power to deliver a satisfying complex soundscape, the works embraces the concept of an ‘ensemble’ of multiple forms with minor variations that allows great flexibility in composing elements of the work and helps to develop a sense of continuity inflected with subtle difference. The units are can be programmed as desired ~ and will broadcast human voice with fragments of poetry.
Lotus contains ten Haiku, one line of each poem being stored in each upright audio unit. As each unit operates with an individual solar timer/charger the lines are recited at random moments delivering an ever changing random mix ~ in effect comining the ten Haiku into a new ‘Mega-Haiku’. - http://www.sonicobjects.com/index.php/projects/more/lotus_at_edith_cowan_university/

Kinetic Tape Sculpture

Monday 26 July 2010

The Elephant Bed





The Elephant Bed by John Grade

Quintetto

"Quintetto" is an installation based on the study of casual movement of objects or living creatures used as input for the production of sounds. The basic concept is to reveal what we call "invisible concerts" of everyday life.
The vertical movements of the 5 fishes in the acquariums is captured by a videocamera, that translates (through a computer software) their movements in digital sound signals.
We'll have 5 different musical instruments creating a totally unexpected live concert.

>> http://www.quietensemble.com/quintetto.html

Friday 23 July 2010

Sun Boxes


Sun Boxes are an environment to enter and exit at will. It's comprised of twenty speakers operating independently, each powered by the sun via solar panels. There is a different loop set to play a guitar note in each box continuously. These guitar notes collectively make a Bb chord. Because the loops are different in length, once the piece begins they continually overlap and the piece slowly evolves over time.

The sounds of Sun Boxes have been described as both soothing and energizing. A unique combination of adjectives often used to describe yoga, or meditation. When experiencing the piece, Sun Boxes allows the participant to slow down, and notice the subtleties of the composition unfold. With the abundance of technology and hustle of this culture it is a much needed concept to not only be allowed, but also encouraged to slow down.

>> Sun-boxes website

>> Craig Colorusso's blog

Suikinkutsu


The suikinkutsu, literally meaning ‘water harp chamber,’ is an underground Japanese water instrument which is usually located in temple gardens and places of ceremony. The water chime consists of an upside down pot with a small hole through it’s bottom. The upside down pot is buried underground, with a porous rock layer above and an impermeable layer below.

Water slowly seeps through the rock bed above, drips through the hole in the pot, and splashes in a shallow pool of water inside of the pot’s chamber. The dripping water creates a pleasant ringing sound, a sound who’s quality can be manipulated by the height of the water pool and the size and shape of the pot.


This magical instrument is an important object in Japanese culture. A suikinkutsu is often located below a hand washing basin – when the hands are washed, for a Japanese tea ceremony for example, the water chime is activated, creating an appropriately serene and relaxed mood for the ceremony.
Source: Oddstruments.com
>> Suikinkutsu Wikipedia page
>> Score for a Hole in the Ground - suikinkutsu inspired (and using no mics or speakers!) sound installation by Jem Finer

Thursday 22 July 2010

Ideas & Aims

A few of the ideas I have had recently that I want to research further and try to put into practice.

Projects:

a) A sound art sculpture/installation that does not use microphones or speakers (technologies that are so integral to sound production in our modern lives). I want to use natural forces and materials to produce something that will be interesting & affecting audibly. Location will be key. What sources of energy can I use? Water, wind...

to be updated...