Dear friends,
I've been so busy settling in to our new city that I almost didn't realize that I haven't made any of my own work in a long time. But I did notice, and today I assigned myself a project to make a piece in one day, using only materials I had already collected. The result is actually something that I've been thinking about for a while, I think almost three years now-- a music box that uses natural materials as a reel. This was one of my first sound piece ideas, and for whatever reason I never had time to realize it. As it is (which is really a sketch) it's more like a phonograph than anything else. My materials and construction methods emphasize it's similarity to some things I have been working on in the last few months and years, but the fact of the matter is I keep coming back to the same set of ideas because I feel like I still haven't gotten it right. I'm pretty happy with this little experiment, but still think there are more places to go with the underlying ideas.
Anyway, I am fairly satisfied with this final product, and very happy with this way of working. It's really nice to finish a project in a day, and I think maybe a good method of exploring and getting over some inertia and fears about returning to a studio practice after a two month hiatus. On that note, Cascus has been really inspiring lately-- it's amazing what you all are working on and thinking about, and it really makes me want to get down to business again.
Finally, these are some pictures of our new studio space, just to put things in context.
Claire and I have been really lucky, and able to get a lot of nearly free tools and materials from work (at the Habitat ReStore, a strange cross between a Goodwill and a Home Depot, run by Habitat for Humanity). You really can't beat a 12" table saw for $5, or a drill press for 65 cents.
You should all visit us. Austin is really rad.
2 comments:
Cara! Beautiful stuff. Violinist Malcolm Goldstein has pieces where he plays a tree branch, and other natural objects. Check him out. Typically, coming out of classical music and reacting against it, he was primarily interested in natural materials because of the non-notatability of the sounds produced. One thing about your work that tickled my brain so hard during that wonderful week in Portland is that the natural materials you select and arrange became a notation for the broomy performer.
Do you think of what you're doing as composing? I think of it as two-tiered composition: first the invention of a musical system (instruments, proper modes of their use, sites of play), and then second the composition of individual physical scores that can be played and explored in literal 3-dimensional space, in contrast to the Euro-notation tradition, which mandates the performer move unidirectionally through a 2-dimensional score (pitch & time).
My god, this is awesome.
I'm really excited about this very minimal setup with such a luxurious motion to it. It's like a giant masturbation toy for nature and machines to have sex and let us watch.
Post a Comment