Re: Re: [microsound] 12K, -, cr

[Arelar33@xxxxxxx]

Hello list,
By way of a reply to Eammon, the art student who introduced himself earlier, 
I will also introduce myself.
Rob here, living in Manchester, England.
I too started out as an artist, making large welded steel sculptures. I tried 
to learn to use computers to make art, but found all the visual software 
(especially the 3D stuff) absolutely horrendous. 
As a sculptor, I found that I could pursue the same material and expressive 
manipulations with sound that I had previously developed in steel (and 
stone), and that I could also put my work into space. I could never do this 
with the graphical stuff. My work is all derived from field recordings that I 
collect, and this even allows me on occasion to engage physically with 
materials that I had previously worked both by hand and with power tools. And 
I can still work with power tools too!!
I was always more interested with the actual welds, than the 'whole', and 
this interest continues in my sound work, allowing the listener to perceive 
the 'nuts and bolts' of the artwork by leaving 'clicks and glitches' in the 
soundscapes that I develop.
At first, I had dificulty in the 'set in stone' nature of the audio track. 
Although repeated listening can reveal previously un-perceived elements and 
fresh approaches, the material is experienced in the same linear fashion 
every time. So, I have developed a number of indeterminate sound pieces using 
banks of sounds which are played by programs I write in Director. These 
pieces are powered by random numerical processes and produce a work which, 
although consistent will never be 'identical' at each listening. This is my 
immediate solution to the lack of physicality associated with digital art in 
the main. I dont mean interactin, as such, but the actual nature of the 
artwork. As an object maker, I found it difficult to lose the full gamut of 
dimensions that are currently available!!
The indeterminate pieces offer a kind of perspective, in that the piece can 
be percieved from different angles, not in a literal, spatial sense, but in a 
temporal way. That is, over time, one can gradually gain an understanding of 
'the whole' in the same way that one gains a sense of the 'whole' of an 
object through movements in space.
I am, though, currently working on some linear pieces (tracks), as a way to 
explore some of the micro elements that I dont feel able to in the 
indeterminate work.
Obviously, I could expand upon all of these points, but its only an 
introduction, not a defence of some theoretical viewpoint. 
So, Id say to Eammon, based upon my experience...carry on with the visual 
arts and take your work into sound, beware of software written for musicians, 
and buy yourself an angle grinder!!
Cheers all
Rob