Following on from 'A Cacophonous Chatter' post from March. I wanted to continue developing the use of sound as added layers of discord within the work. I recorded other sounds to layer in with the voices, I altered speeds and volume, and, just like my initial attempts with Photoshop many years ago, I got carried away with new software, it began to control me. The sounds, while weird and wonderful, were meaningless and once again I had an ownership dilemma. The first time I had this kind of issue was during the lecture on Digital Futures early on in the course. Being an old school bookbinder, I always thought that craft should be designed and made by an individual, not manufactured elsewhere. But, that lecture got me thinking about my books and whose instructions I followed initially. Was that any different to designers and Fab Labs? Back to sounds, software and meaningless output. It could be said that I was exploring sound in the same way that I explore process in the darkroom. But in the darkroom I have a degree of knowledge to start the exploration. With Audacity, I was starting from scratch and the narrative was becoming forced,slick but forced. So I started again and this time began to consider how to listen as well as what to hear. If I am exploring everyday objects as memory triggers, I should be doing the same with everyday sounds. Deep Listening, but I am thinking here of the deep listening of Nan Shepherd, whose sounds I imagine through her prose as images, I can place myself in her in her world. By closing my eyes I can place myself in my own sonic environment, a new experience, new layers of understanding. By recording these sounds I can place my sonic environment in alternative spaces, to elevate the narrative, to invite new dialogue.
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susan CassieRamblings of a student in self-isolation. Archives
August 2020
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