MY SOUND + MOVEMENT SCORE

How to See and Feel Sound.

Carboard, Hot glue.

80cm x 60 cm (x3)

2019

I wanted the viewer to be able to not hear but to touch and see sound. Inspired by brail and the ways of communication with the loss of a sense I chose to use hot glue and cardboard to create a clean yet fun canvas, enabling the viewer to feel when it’s silent and peaceful, or chaotic and busy. Each symbol created has a meaning, a purpose. They come together to tell a story. Three different stories. With three different intakes.

The Process,

First sketches of my sound maps. (21cm x 15cm)

 

Second Sketches of my sound maps. (42cm x 30cm)

 

First sketch of my Movement map. (25cm x 17cm)           The first test of glue on paper.

         

Final sound maps and movement map. (80cm x 60cm)

** I am currently trying to upload footage of the movement that I created with the lights onto Youtube or Vimeo.

MY HABIT SCORE,

Scissors.

Cut hair. Stop. Cut More. Stop. Book hairdresser’s appointment.

MY CRITIQUES

When presenting my work, I felt that everyone was rather engaged. I received a lot of lovely and constructive feedback regarding my work. I also received lots of great recommendations such as adding trying different materials or adding colour, which I then explained that I did test these ideas out however I preferred the simplicity of the clean white on white look. I was very pleased seeing everyone take part in my work and watching them experience what I heard was truly a magical moment. I liked how I had presented my work; I believe that by allowing my classmates to see my process laid out with the final project really allowed them to see the effort I put in, how I got to my final stage, and what I did to get there.  It would have been helpful to have had more time to get into a deeper explanation however, overall am very content and satisfied with my work for my first bridge assignment.

My Artist Inspiration,

Ken Friedman.

Ken was a major inspiration for my habit score. His ways of writing the scores in the Fluxus Performance Workbook were simple and fun; they got the point across and delivered the message that he wanted. Most consisted of a few lines written out like a step by step instruction manual, with creative and amusing titles. I enjoyed this way of writing and without realising until later it was how I wrote mine out.

Shigeko Kubota.

Shigeko Kubota was a very fascinating artist, like most avant-garde artists in the sixties, her pieces were bold and stood out from any other. Especially In the way which she expresses her paintings and her art installations/performances (scores) for example vagina painting (1965) wherein this performance she simply attached a handle of a paintbrush to her underwear, squatted over a bucket of red paint, and waddles across her paper canvas, creating red menstrual-like smears. A very attention-grabbing, abstract and obscure pieces for that time. Like Kubota I wanted to step out of the traditional drawings/paintings and try to give my piece some life and fun, to make it more amusing and enjoyable for all viewers.

Andrew Myers.

 

Bonjour! Bonjour!

Inspired by Andrew Myers, and his installation, Please Touch the Art challenges people to see artwork from a more diverse perspective without actually seeing it. I liked how my piece can be seen by a whole another audience of people, for it can be viewed by the blind. Throughout the past few weeks, we have learnt a lot about our senses and what it is like to lose a sense, how our others open up and how we are greeted into this whole new world of life. Physical contact and touch are one of our most valuable sense, being able to use that sense for my art was something I loved.

It was a pleasant day in the park and I could feel the sun on my body like a warm cosy blanket. I was holding on tight for I had lost one of my senses. What was a normal walk now was not so normal. It was midday on a Monday. We were in Jardin des Tuileries and I was blindfolded. Summer was coming to an end, but it was still busy in the park. Everyone was outside enjoying the remnants of summer days and making the most of the sunshine. It was somewhat chaotic, filled with families, workers, and others just out. I could hear children running and screaming and the sound of what I assumed were babies prams being pushed around the park. I could hear tourists, hear them taking photos, and the sounds of multiple different languages that have travelled far, (most I imagined were visiting the Louvre). Then there were the Parisian couples having lunch dates and discussing their day around the fountain.

I was nervous and uneasy. I knew that I should allow myself to relax and have trust in those with me, who had their eyesight. What started as a scary, anxious and uneasy feeling, had eventually changed me into a relaxing, and somewhat, calm human. I was focused and concentrating on trying to imagine where I was, what I would have been seeing, and then using my imagination to create a new vision for myself.

Focusing on picturing these sounds led me to a new image of what sounds are and what sounds can look, and feel like. For me, they can now be represented in many forms and have many descriptions. They can be soft squiggles, vibrant lines, bright dots, harsh and jagged edges, all the different representations of sound as I was ‘seeing’ it.

As we continued walking, I was welcomed into a new sound of sounds. The sound of a large gathering of people which I assume was a possible cafe or restaurant. As we walked closer to this sound I was surprised with the shade of the trees (I imagined they were trees, what else could it be?), and this came as a shock. How is shade a shock? For myself, the sudden, bright, blurred vision I had from the sun on my eyelids to this darkness was frightening and overwhelming. It felt like I was just getting used to where I was and what my surroundings were, then a slight dimness crept over me and then the sensation of falling or walking down a hole hit me. The crunch of the leaves as they rustled in the wind right next to my ear forced me to jump. A tree, those big things I see every day and could easily draw with my eyes closed, scared me. The start of this journey had me slightly on edge and uncertain. Hearing more noises and people, the sounds were getting louder as if I was sitting next to a radio and someone was turning the volume up slowly, suddenly, and intentionally.

A sharp turn to the right. Children. French children. Yelling and running, calling out to each other. It is then at this moment where I had been sat down, in what I can imagine was one of the green park chairs seen around the jardin. Once I have sat, I can hear them, closer and closer. French whispers and questions. Bonjour! Bonjour! Bonjour! Bonjour! Bonjour! I was surrounded. Comment allez-vous? Quel est votre nom? Est-ce que tu parles français?? I was at this time grateful for my French language class that morning. I was able to speak back, or at least attempt my best responses in French. They seemed to be slightly impressed, which made me surprisingly happy. I told them where I was from, Australia, and I could hear the oohs and ahhs. I remember one of their names which I believe was Baudouin (if not, it was something very similar and along the lines of this). Why do I remember his name? Because I have never heard the name before, and he must have seen the surprised look on my face for he then went on to explain that it is a French name and not a common one. I then remember once I regained my sight senses, the quick flash of his nametag on his shirt pocket before they all ran back to their class groups.

For me, a fascinating discovery was that I enjoyed talking and listening to the children, and it didn’t matter that I was blindfolded. I found out that I was more ‘open’ to listening to them than I would’ve been without my blindfold. I was talking to all the children, attempting to put a voice to an imaginary face and allowing my mind to be creative with its pictures. Once I removed my blindfold, my visions in my head vanished. For now, I could see into the warm and pleasant day that was the Jardin des Tuileries.