Where Sound Meets Vision: Art and the Convergence of Sound and Vision
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Where Sound Meets Vision: Art and the Convergence of Sound and Vision Benjamin Shane Phillips - 3131443 BCT (Sound and Audio Production) - JMC Academy BMus Hons (Sonic Arts) – The University of Adelaide MMusTech - The University of Newcastle Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy (Fine Art) The University of Newcastle (Australia) January 2017 Benjamin Phillips - 3131443 Statement of Originality The thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference has been made in the text. I give consent to the final version of my thesis being made available worldwide when deposited in the University’s Digital Repository**, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. **Unless an Embargo has been approved for a determined period. Benjamin Phillips January 2017 Page 1 Benjamin Phillips - 3131443 Creative Works - Film Paintings and Titles All creative works accompanying this thesis are presented on this film painting map http://1331.space/digital-sketchbook They are also available in the virtual gallery http://1331.space/av-gallery/ 1. Golden Jewel Sang https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQMxYo8hLjs (4:25) 2. Slow Cooking Urban Decay https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC_yzgTByrA (4:18) 3. Golden Water Sang https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNDGPLTVdD0 (3:24) 4. And She Shone https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mr4PpJ2_JqU (5:10) 5. Kaleidoscope Jamboree https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhfItSXhk2g (6:03) 6. And So She Disappears https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVOcEdqXTN0 (5:10) 7. And She Whispered https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWBVfpPA7gs (5:10) 8. Look Up There Fools! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwjcTflbzoI (4:00) 9. In Service of the Light+ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hG4-4IvtXkg (4:20) Detailed analysis of works and links feature in Chapter Four. Important Note: Please view the works in the order specified on a high definition screen using quality stereo headphones. This is to appreciate the connectivity and themes that link the works. Page 2 Benjamin Phillips - 3131443 Table of Contents Statement of Originality .......................................................................................................................... 1 Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 5 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 6 1 – Transforming Sound into Sound and Vision ..................................................................................... 8 1a - Post-Digital .................................................................................................................................. 8 1b - Post-Media Aesthetic ................................................................................................................. 10 1c - Audio-Visual Art ....................................................................................................................... 11 Case Study 1 - The Virtual Space ..................................................................................................... 12 Case Study 2 - Digital Art Beyond The Computer Interface ............................................................ 12 2 – The Transformation of Early Twentieth-Century Art and The Emergence of Moving Image Practice .................................................................................................................................................. 15 2a - The Technological and Cultural Influences of Moving Image Practice .................................... 19 3 – The Convergence of Sound and Vision .......................................................................................... 24 3a - A Confluence of Happenstance ................................................................................................. 25 3b - A History of Synergism ............................................................................................................. 27 Case Study 3 - The Rock Avant-Gardes ........................................................................................... 31 4 – How Do Sonic Artists Transform Sound Only Practices into Audio-Visual Practices? ................. 34 4a - The Art of Audio-Field Recording ............................................................................................ 35 Case Study 4 - Sound Mapping......................................................................................................... 35 4b - The Light Microphone ............................................................................................................... 36 4c - Sonic Art .................................................................................................................................... 38 Case Study 5 - The Soundscape ........................................................................................................ 39 Case Study 6 - Granular Synthesis .................................................................................................... 40 4d - Soundscape as Sonic Sculpture ................................................................................................. 41 Case Study 7 - Musique Concrète ..................................................................................................... 41 Case Study 8 - Binaural Sound ......................................................................................................... 43 5 – Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 47 Bibliography ......................................................................................................................................... 50 Page 3 Benjamin Phillips - 3131443 Table of Figures Figure 1: Computer created ‘Rembrandt’ (BBC Website) ................................................................................... 14 Figure 2: Image from Colour Box, paint on film strip, 35mm, 4 mins ................................................................ 17 Figure 3: Image from Le Retour a la Raison (The Return to Reason), black and white film, 35mm, 2 mins ..... 18 Figure 4: Luigi Russolo - The Intonarumori 1914 ............................................................................................... 25 Figure 5: Painted by Syd Barret - album cover for Barret, Harvest Records, London 1970 ............................... 28 Figure 6: Pink Floyd - The Roundhouse 1966, Photo by Adam Ritchie .............................................................. 29 Figure 7: Padshop granular synthesizer by Steinberg used in the creative works ................................................ 40 Figure 8: Binaural Dummy Head ......................................................................................................................... 43 Figure 9: Diagram of Binaural Sound Field ......................................................................................................... 44 Figure 10: Binauralizer plug-in by Noise Makers ................................................................................................ 44 Page 4 Benjamin Phillips - 3131443 Abstract Over the course of the twentieth-century, both the ethereal material of sound and light (vision) converged through emerging technology and mediums – creating new audio-visual art practices and forms. Whilst artists past and present still use sound and vision in singular artistic practices, the emergence of The Internet is creating a conundrum for sonic artists. This is because The Internet is a multimedia medium, creating a need for sonic artists to explore the possibilities of audio-visual practices to utilize the full potential of the medium. Furthermore, prominent academic and sound artist Barry Truax posits in his key sound art text Acoustic Communication ‘we live in a visually centred culture’. The conundrum of sound only art practices like soundscaping, and how to transform such practices into audio-visual ones for broader viewing and dissemination on multimedia mediums is the question to be investigated in the thesis. The practical component of the thesis, through practice-led experimentation will demonstrate how to transform the sound only practice of soundscaping into an audio-visual form. To achieve both these aims, historical avant-garde film art or ‘film painting’ and sonic art will be explored, along with digital art theory. Page 5 Benjamin Phillips - 3131443 Introduction In 1913, when proto-creative arts researcher Luigi Russolo wrote his now seminal sonic arts text The Art of Noises, 1 sound became a legitimate ethereal material that could be used in emerging artistic practices. Over the course of the twentieth-century, The Art of Noises was expanded through artistic experimentation by artists from all three movements of the avant-gardes’ – historical, neo and rock. These artists also foresaw the contemporary art era, or the rise of multimedia mediums like Television and The Internet. They did this by experimenting with both sound and vision, to create some of the first audio-visual and multimedia artistic practices and forms.