While searching for exhibitions and online platforms that I myself could potentially get my own work for this project in to, I come across a lot of different websites – blogs of similar work and those that admire the work and exhibition events.
One of the sites that I came across is Sounds Like Noise, a website created by Jay-Dea Lopez, a sound artist who was originally trained in classical performance and production but now he “uses field recordings as a way to question the complexities of our natural and social environments”. His work has featured in not only films and radio, but festivals and galleries not just in Australia, but also overseas. The site was originally created to “explore Australia’s northern New South Wales region through a collection of field recordings and experimental soundscapes” but it then expanded to become more general about sound and the environment. There is a page on his website titles Listening to Art whose opening paragraphs speak of the moments when one walks through a gallery and it can become too overwhelming, poorly curated, or there could be factors that allow you to become distracted, such as noise.
“What is your experience of walking through modern-day art galleries? As you pass from room to room are you fully engaged with the works on the walls or, despite all good intentions, does a sense of fatigue begin to dampen your enthusiasm?”
So he raises the observation that why is it that, for the most part, galleries usually cater for only one thing – the visual. This is where he quotes Sebastiane Hegarty who views senses as performing with each other, and not as individual, so this is potentially why we can feel so disengaged in galleries; one sense is in overdrive and the others are trying to breakthrough. The example he uses to back this is one I have previously spoken of in this blog – The National Gallery in London exhibition where numerous sound artists from all backgrounds created sound pieces to accompany pieces of art; “the sounds heard before them guided their eyes across the canvas at details often overlooked or dismissed” meaning the visual was not the only sense working, so it was not in overdrive and the sound meant there was nothing distracting the viewer/listener. Being inspired by all of this, at the bottom of the page there are soundscapes created by Lopez himself to pieces of art work by Australian print-makers (follow link at bottom for the website, and his work).
At the top of the Listening to Art page he has included a link to his other website Auditory Visions which he created for the purpose of his own project. This project was similar to The National Gallery, however he asked print-makers (that he chose based on his own interests) to create two pieces each with them having the knowledge that a piece of sound art, was going to accompany it, in response to what they have made. He does also briefly state the that the reason behind him choosing print-makers for the visual art form is “for its materiality; its richness and diversity of texture, shades, imagery and substrates, all of which can be found in the elements of sound.”
Finding this website, and project, along with my other research, shows how important both visual and sound are together; especially in art form. The sound art helps keep the viewer interested in whichever piece of art it is, helping them look deeper and pay more attention. Picking up on the little things.
References:
https://auditoryvisions.org/
https://soundslikenoise.org/
Leave a comment