Strategies for Live, Site Specific, Sound Art Performance Tansy

222 Pages·2015·1.5 MB·English

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Spinks, Tansy (2015) Associating places: strategies for live, site specific, sound art
performance. PhD thesis, University of the Arts London.
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Associating
 Places:

Strategies
 for
 Live,
 Site
 Specific,

Sound
 Art
 Performance

Tansy
 Spinks

PhD
 submission

CRiSAP,
 London
 College
 of
 Communication,

University
 of
 the
 Arts,
 London

2014

  1
2
Abstract

Claims
 for
 originality
 in
 this
 thesis
 lie
 in
 bringing
 together
 many
 different

disciplines
 in
 art,
 music,
 sound
 studies
 and
 performance.
 The
 methodology,

contextually
 indebted
 to
 the
 dialogues
 of
 site
 specific
 art,
 performance,
 and

sound
 improvisation,
 has
 emerged
 as
 a
 multi-­‐disciplinary
 one,
 informed
 in

part
 by
 the
 study
 of
 those
 artists
 from
 the
 1960s
 onwards
 who
 actively

sought
 to
 resist
 the
 gallery
 system.
 The
 practice
 has
 driven
 the
 thesis
 in

developing
 and
 continuously
 testing
 the
 requirement
 to
 respond
 uniquely
 to

chosen
 sites.
 By
 using
 relevant
 references,
 instruments,
 and
 sonified

materials,
 a
 compulsion
 to
 convey
 something
 of
 the
 particularity
 of
 the
 site’s

associations
 through
 sound,
 is
 performed
 on
 site.

In
 the
 course
 of
 considering
 the
 wider
 implications
 of
 a
 site
 through

both
 the
 sound
 performances
 and
 the
 critical
 writing,
 I
 propose
 that
 there

are
 essentially
 three
 aspects
 to
 identify
 when
 working
 with
 sound
 on
 site.
 I

define
 these
 as:

the
 actual,

the
 activated

the
 associative

The
 first
 aspect
 describes
 what
 is
 essentially
 inherent
 to
 the
 place,
 the

second
 what
 can
 be
 encouraged
 to
 be
 ‘sounded’
 through
 physical

intervention,
 and
 the
 third
 outlines
 and
 forms
 what
 I
 have
 coined
 as
 the

wider
 material
 of
 the
 site.
 This
 term
 draws
 on
 any
 relevant
 aspects
 of
 the

social,
 physical,
 historical,
 anecdotal,
 and
 aural
 associations
 that
 a
 site
 may

proffer.

However,
 it
 is
 the
 notion
 of
 the
 associative
 that
 primarily
 informs
 the

research
 by
 providing
 a
 methodology
 for
 the
 practice
 and
 in
 proposing
 a
 new

paradigm
 of
 a
 live,
 site
 specific,
 performed,
 sound
 art
 work.
 The
 twenty
 or
 so

works
 in
 the
 portfolio
 undertaken
 hitherto
 have
 existed
 not
 only
 as
 live

performances
 but
 also
 in
 virtual
 and
 physical
 documentation,
 critical

  3
analyses,
 and
 in
 the
 potential
 possibilities
 brought
 to
 the
 form
 by
 the

response
 of
 others.

By
 addressing
 this
 new
 taxonomy
 of
 approach
 in
 defining
 the
 actual,

the
 activated
 and
 the
 associative
 as
 a
 kind
 of
 aural
 ground
 to
 the
 site

(borrowing
 a
 term
 from
 painting),
 significant
 live
 sound
 art
 works
 have
 been

developed
 to
 temporarily
 inhabit
 a
 space
 by
 exploring
 this
 latent
 material
 of

the
 site.

4
Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements
 go
 to
 my
 supervisory
 team
 at
 CRiSAP,
 the
 sound

research
 unit
 at
 the
 London
 College
 of
 Communication,
 University
 of
 the
 Arts,

London:
 Angus
 Carlyle,
 Cathy
 Lane,
 David
 Toop
 and
 all
 the
 other
 staff
 and

visiting
 speakers
 in
 the
 sound
 art
 department,
 not
 least
 thanks
 to
 Ciaran

Harte.
 I
 acknowledge
 particularly
 the
 opportunities
 to
 be
 involved
 in
 events,

practice-­‐based
 seminars,
 symposiums,
 exhibitions
 and
 publications

throughout
 my
 time
 at
 UAL.
 Thanks
 to
 Thomas
 Gardner
 and
 Kersten

Glandien
 for
 conversations,
 to
 all
 my
 fellow
 PhD
 students
 especially
 Phil

Durant,
 Mark
 Peter
 Wright,
 Iris
 Garrelfs,
 Idit
 Nathan.
 Thanks
 also
 to
 Stephen

Connor,
 then
 at
 Birkbeck
 for
 his
 initial
 encouragement
 to
 apply.

I
 am
 grateful
 to
 Nick
 Rampley
 for
 his
 steady
 support
 (and
 reliable

wielding,
 when
 required,
 of
 a
 video
 camera)
 and
 to
 Francesca
 and
 Josie

Rampley,
 John
 and
 Jennifer
 Spinks.
 Thanks
 go
 to
 all
 my
 supportive
 colleagues

in
 the
 Fine
 Art
 department
 at
 Middlesex
 University,
 notably
 from
 Head
 of

Department
 Phil
 Healey
 in
 sponsoring
 my
 PhD,
 Peter
 Williams
 for
 sound

technical
 advice,
 Fran
 Ross
 for
 video
 editing,
 Susan
 Lok
 for
 the
 chance
 to

present
 at
 research
 events,
 John
 Dack
 and
 his
 Sonic
 Art
 lectures,
 Nic

Sandiland
 and
 to
 Michael
 Bradley
 for
 his
 enthusiasm
 for
 violins
 and

photography.
 Thanks
 also
 to
 my
 collaborator
 on
 the
 Seven
 Improvised
 Bridges

and
 Seven
 Improvised
 Bows
 videos,
 Klega.
 Thanks
 to
 Jean
 Fisher,
 John
 Seth

and
 Jefford
 Horrigan
 (now
 ex-­‐Middlesex
 tutors)
 for
 first
 encouragements

and
 at
 Central
 St
 Martins,
 Anne
 Tallentire
 for
 her
 midway
 vote
 of
 confidence

and
 the
 valuable
 practice-­‐led
 opportunities
 provided
 by
 the
 Sensingsite
 team

of
 Susan
 Trangmar,
 Stephen
 Ball
 and
 Duncan
 White
 and
 the
 other
 student

participants.
 Many
 thanks
 to
 Graham
 Treacher,
 who
 diligently
 read
 the

whole
 thesis
 in
 messy
 draft
 form
 and
 Deborah
 Padfield
 for
 her
 years
 of

support,
 to
 editor
 Emma
 Callery
 and
 Jenn
 Tomomitsu
 for
 helping
 to
 make
 the

document
 look
 so
 credible
 and
 to
 James
 Gosling
 of
 Schein
 for
 (re)
 designing

my
 website
 with
 a
 new
 emphasis
 and
 the
 appendix
 as
 a
 catalogue
 of
 sound

art
 works.
 Michael
 Curran
 set
 me
 on
 this
 path
 by
 having
 the
 confidence
 to

give
 me
 my
 first
 improvised
 performance
 opportunity
 at
 the
 Camden
 Arts

  5
Centre
 in
 his
 event
 Fassbinder’s
 Jukebox,
 2005
 with
 the
 support
 of
 Jenny

Lomax.
 I
 have
 been
 assisted
 by
 many
 people
 over
 the
 years
 and
 thanks
 are

due
 to
 particularly
 to
 sound
 assistants
 Mike
 Skeet
 for
 the
 Sonic
 Triangle

recording,
 Dave
 Hunt
 for
 the
 Max
 patch,
 Emanuele
 Cendron,
 for
 all
 his

patient
 assistance
 with
 sound
 editing
 (and
 making),
 and
 to
 enthusiastic

fellow
 performers
 Antoine
 Bertin,
 Jan
 Hendrickse,
 Greta
 Pistaceci,
 Vaida

Kidykaite,
 Sunil
 Chandy,
 Aurélie
 Mermod,
 curators
 Kate
 Ross,
 Hayley
 Dixon.
 I

am
 indebted
 to
 David
 Morris
 for
 his
 poetic
 reflections
 and
 to
 all
 those
 who

contributed
 such
 valuable
 anecdotal
 responses.
 Inspiring
 conferences
 were

devised
 by:
 Michael
 Gallagher,
 Experimenting
 With
 Geography
 (Edinburgh

University),
 Marcus
 Leadley,
 Space:
 the
 Real
 and
 the
 Abstract

(Wolverhampton
 University),
 Ansa
 LØnstrup,
 Audiovisuality
 (Aarhus,

Denmark),
 The
 Global
 Composition
 (Darmstadt-­‐Dieburg,
 Germany),
 Christian

Wissel,
 Goldsmiths’
 Engaging
 Tactics,
 Revealing
 Secrets
 (stream
 for
 the

British
 Sociologists
 Association
 annual
 conference),
 Cathy
 Lane,
 Hernoise

symposium
 (Tate
 Modern
 &
 LCC),
 Supersonix
 conference,
 South
 Kensington

museums,
 Sounding
 Space
 (Chelsea
 College
 of
 Art),
 The
 Engine
 Room
 (Morley

College’s
 Cardew
 festival),
 the
 Acts
 Re-­Acts
 residency
 and
 festival
 of

performance
 at
 Wimbledon
 Space,
 (alongside
 Iris
 Garrelfs),
 and
 Marcus

Orlandi’s

 event
 Prop
 and
 Proposition,
 the
 Body
 as
 Sculpture
 (Pitzhanger

Manor),
 all
 of
 which
 assisted
 in
 the
 formation
 of
 my
 ideas.

Tansy
 Spinks,
 2014

6
Table
 of
 contents

Abstract

  3

Acknowledgements

  5

Preface

  11

Practice
 contents
 page

  15

Chronology
 of
 works

  17

Outline
 of
 chapters

  23

Introduction
 to
 my
 practice

  25

Chapter
 One:
 Sounds
 and
 sights

Fontana
 and
 musical
 shadows

  31

Neuhaus,
 Vostell
 and
 sound
 Installation

  38

Phillipsz
 and
 everyday
 spaces

  44

Cardiff
 and
 narrative
 sound

  48

Space
 and
 geographies

  51

Conclusions

  56

Chapter
 Two:
 Site
 specificity
 and
 hearing
 spaces

Beyond
 the
 white
 cube:
 Duchamp’s
 on-­‐going
 legacy

  59

Site
 specificity
 as
 critique

  60

Framing
 theories
 of
 site
 specificity

  64

LaBelle
 and
 the
 conditions
 of
 site

  70

Hearing
 spaces

  74

Live
 and
 recorded

  76

Echo
 and
 affect

  79

Dislocating
 sources

  83

Without
 walls

  86

  7
Chapter
 Three:
 Associations
 and
 evocation

The
 material
 of
 the
 site

 91

Approaching
 a
 site
 specific
 sound
 work

 92

Description
 and
 analysis
 of
 Silent
 Zone,
 2012

 93

Locations
 and
 site
 visits

 94

The
 material

 96

A
 description
 of
 the
 event

 96

The
 significance
 of
 the
 texts

 98

The
 sounds
 made

 98

Examples
 from
 the
 ‘sounds
 heard’
 log

 99

Summarising
 the
 material
 of
 the
 site

  100

Evocation
 and
 the
 mimetic
 tendency

  101

The
 mimic

  102

Defining
 my
 Three
 Terms
 of
 Association

  106

‘It
 is
 by
 Imitating
 that
 we
 Invent’

  110

Compositional
 mimesis

  115

Chapter
 Four:
 Sound,
 method
 and
 form

Transcription:
 the
 material
 of
 the
 site
 into
 sound

  119

List
 one:
 an
 inventory
 of
 materials

  124

List
 two:
 an
 inventory
 of
 places
 and
 sounds

  124

Perpetuation
 as
 a
 compositional
 and
 metaphorical
 device:
 defining
 the
 loop
  127

Contexts
 of
 the
 loop

  130

The
 role
 and
 uses
 of
 rhythm
 (with
 reference
 to
 Lefebvre)

  134

Rhythm
 and
 implication

  137

Take
 a
 Space,
 Make
 a
 Sound
 In
 It

  138

8
Chapter
 Five:
 Method,
 process
 and
 presence

‘How
 do
 you
 want
 it
 to
 sound?’

  147

Overview
 of
 methods,
 sounds
 and
 compositional
 parameters

  148

‘Experimental’

  152

Melody?

  154

Challenging
 conventions

  156

The
 instrument
 and
 amplification

  159

Extension,
 disruption
 and
 materiality

  164

Activations

  167

Improvisations

  170

Performing
 place

  172

The
 uses
 of
 liveness

  179

What
 is
 liveness?

  180

Liveness
 and
 the
 interruption
 of
 space

  180

Liveness
 and
 physical
 presence
 in
 performance

  184

Liveness
 in
 relation
 to
 recording

  190

Liveness
 as
 engagement

  192

Liveness
 as
 improvisation

  194

Liveness
 and
 place

  196

Concluding
 liveness

  199

Conclusions

  201

Introduction
 to
 appendix

  207

Bibliography

  209

  9