Listening to Unexpected Sound, Concert and Final Project Idea
Learning about and finding the Max Neuhaus piece in Times Square was an interesting adventure. Although I had been to Times Square more times than I can count, I had never heard (literally and figuratively) of the piece before. Consequently, it was no surprise that I had trouble finding it. I went twice to Times Square. The first time I only new generally where the piece was supposed to be but not much else. That was purposeful because I didn’t want my own interpretation altered by someone else’s description. Unfortunately, I didn’t know exactly where to go so I missed the piece. Then I did further research on the web and as I later said to my wife, echoing a line from the movie Forbidden Planet, “The thing is invisible!”
Now, armed with the knowledge that there was actually nothing to see, I went back to Times Square. I almost missed the installation again as I wasn’t sure which traffic island I needed to go to or what at what end. Finally, after a couple of minutes, I stumbled literally right on top of it. What was interesting was that the site was crowded with people. There was a film crew shooting over part of the grate where the sound was coming from and many pedestrians had stopped to gawk at them. There was even a camera on a boom right over my head. What I found very interesting, though, was that no one else seemed to be aware of Neuhaus’ sound installation. I stood there listening as if I was the only one.
Neuhaus’ Times Square piece along with his other installations described in the article “Tuning Space: Max Neuhaus and Site-Specific Sound,” allowed me to start thinking about sound in a whole different light. Audio input is something that a person can take for granted and yet Neuhaus is turning it into the basis for his artistic expression. I am used to connecting sound to emotions through music or just simply ignoring it, the second idea being the result of growing up and living in New York City for so long. However, Neuhaus connects sound with location and the effect is to allow the listener to reevaluate his or her notions about sound. I found myself grinning as I stood there on that traffic island in the middle of Times Square because I felt I knew something that everyone else around me did not. They were caught up in what they were seeing, while I was appreciating what I was hearing and all the other sounds of traffic and pedestrians were unimportant.
My experience was of course the result of the time and the place around me. This is possible only if one removes audio art from its expected places, such as the concert hall. Neuhaus recognized this in the 1960s and his various installations are the result. As the article says, these installations are not really Minimalist in nature but rather an examination on how sound and space can interact. I find now that I wish I could have experienced Neuhaus’ other works such as Drive in Music or Public Supply I. A trip to Dea Beacon just might be in my future.
Tonight I went to concert at the ISSUE Project Room in Brooklyn. David and Gisela Gamper performed their piece, "See Hear Now:Visble Music" along with Geoff Gersh. The performance space was a mid-sized ciruclar room with display screens on one wall and speakers hanging from the ceiling. In the piece, video was projected in patches on the screen while the performers played behind the audience. David Gamper created digital sounds using Max/MSP while Gisela Gamper conducted live video mixing. Geoff Gersh played an electric guitar along with electronic devices and found objects.
The piece that was performed was, in my opinion, a little long, lasting nearly one hour. Although everything was happening live it was a little hard to perceive the connection between the video and the sounds. I felt the best part was when a sound was created, recorded and played back in an altered form. That almost hinted at possible audience participation although there was none. Contrasting this performance with the works of Max Neuhaus, one can begin to understand what Neuhaus was reacting against in the 1960s. All that video and sound in a small space was too overwhelming and as an audience member, it was difficult to remain focused.
Final Project Idea
My idea for a final project in Audio Art has to do with exploring a hypothesis I’ve developed over the years. I meant to mention this in my presentation a couple of weeks ago but we ran out of time. I believe that there is a definite relationship between the sound of speech and Classical Music. To examine this, what I would like to do is have my wife, who is taking an acting class right now, record a short soliloquy, which I will then analyze for such things as pitch, rhythm and intervals. I will then use that analysis as the basis for a short composition. My goal is to show that I can create music that has a definite coloration with the sound of speech. To further the idea that Classical Music does this already, my composition will be in the Neo-Classical or Neo-Baroque style.