ONES – week 2 – sound

Posted on Feb 20, 2015 by annepoint

2 women
2 voices
2 countries
2 disciplines
2 intuitions
2 rhythms
————–
1 installation

[16-02-15 UK] Anne Point:

Thoughts on location 2:
Japan sounds – precise and rhythmic ‘submerging with the body of dancers into the world created on the digital canvas.’
UK sounds – echoing rhythms ‘following the lines in a hard vs soft distance’

This week Miku and I both had a longer list of sounds. It almost seemed that location 2, being at the sea sight, directed us automatically towards water sounds. It is funny however, that the both of us collected mechanic water sounds or water that seems to have been contained rather than natural water sounds.

The question if we want to emphasize either the body or the space with the sounds, led our conversation onto interesting paths of how we watch and remember our footage. Example: ‘If we have a hard surface within the location on the canvas, would we rather use echoing sharp sounds to emphasize this or would we want to use muffled sounds as to give a juxtaposition to the expectation of sound to what you hear?’

A lot of the sounds were open to interpretation, thus helicopters and frying pans made their appearance in our minds eye were there were non. This made me very aware of the potential to manipulate the expectations and the perception of our footage for future spectators. Here my fascination for playing with what we know and what we think we know in order to come to a new experience is getting another major impulse.

——

[16-02-15 Japan] Miku:

Anne’s sounds = many of them have material / object / man made kind of edgy, sharp and hard sounds. Nature vs man made objects. Characteristics of the city. However, some of the sounds have both qualities of hard and soft, which reminds me of my body (soft) vs buildings / objects (hard) during the shooting.
Miku’s sound = softer, blur, abstract, round sounds. Many of them are water related sounds. Although, the second location was by the seaside, I was interested in using the sound of different forms of water to create a friction between visual and audible.

Questions
– Using the sound that is related to the object in the frame… Is this too literal? Does it pull away the audience, or does it emphasize the idea / theme?
– Do we always need to use the sound that is not literal? How much friction do we need between visual and audible?
– Am I choosing sounds according to my visual memories or kinaesthetic memories of the location? What would be the difference if I chose visually or kinaesthetically?

More Thoughts
– Mix of natural sounds and man made sounds can be an interesting mix of quality. It causes friction. It creates the elastic world (non-fixed, ever-changing imaginational world)
– Choosing sounds according to the location’s quality, such as the quality of the objects/materials, spaces, lightings, density, colours, and more…
– Unexpected non-related sound has a possibility to re-shape the location differently. Visual effect could emphasize OR it could ruin the whole picture.

ONES – week 1 – sound

Posted on Feb 15, 2015 by annepoint

‘ONES’

2 women
2 countries
2 voices
2 disciplines
2 intuitions
2 rhythms
————–
1 installation

[09-02-15 UK] Anne Point:
Thoughts on Location 1
UK – 3 sounds recorded: ‘Echoing city’
Japan – 4 sounds recorded: ‘Clear rhythms’

We both think that the sounds of the other person are clearer. This ‘clearness’ may stem from the fact that we were not there in person recording it, so we don’t have the other inputs from the space like colour, size or usage (original/traditional use of public space).
Human voices have a tendency to create stereotypical ‘drama’, where machines produce more of a rhythm. In my opinion it would be interesting to separate the body on film from too recognizable sounds, so it gets the possibility to create its own sound and rhythm.
Distortion of sounds by isolating parts of it and slowing these parts down, speeding them up, muffle them or increase their higher or lower tones.

[09-02-15 Japan] Miku:
– Sound creates different environments, feelings, emotions and imagination for each individual person. Depending on your background, one simple sound can transform into a million things.
– The human voice has such a strong presence. It connects with us right away. As soon as we recognize it, it’s challenging for us to imagine more than just a voice.
– When the pitch of the sound is really high, to me it becomes un-grounded, this way my body on the film can’t really connect to the sound itself. It doesn’t evoke my imagination much. This feels out of the body.
– Two intuitions create such an interesting mix of two different worlds.

Trailer ON AN EMPTY STOMACH

Posted on Oct 5, 2014 by annepoint

Very exciting news!
You are invited!

ON AN EMPTY STOMACH has its own trailer!
If you are interested to see the whole performance or book it you can contact me on
info@anne-point.com

What’s the point of it? – Martin Creed

Posted on Apr 11, 2014 by annepoint

Life – laughing – numbers

Triggered from reading an article about Martin Creed in Aesthetica Magazine issue 57, I hastened myself to the Hayward Gallery in London.
Almost the whole gallery is dedicated to a diverse collection of the artists work. Every room, corner, level, wall and outdoors of the gallery is used to show the many No.’s that plunge you into a different dimension of reality, were everything is seriously humoristic and relative; it all depends how you look at it. The great amount of work creates a big collage that makes the building come alive giving it a heartbeat of movement.

Seducing all your senses even before you can give permission, brought on the pulsing allure of this exhibition that had a lot in common with that of an installation. Sounds make you aware that something is going on in a different place long before you reach it. Like in a big theme park I got really excited to try everything out, noticing impatience taking a hold of me.
My attention was firstly drawn by a clicking sound (Work No. 112: Thirty-nine metronomes beating time, one at every speed, 1995-98) before I could registrar what I was seeing. Searching for its source I encountered my sense of touch by almost wanting to duck out of the way of a big iron bar swooping over my head carrying the immense neon words MOTHER (Work No. 1092, 2011). While this installation was speeding up in its circular motion, I heard a very soft hint of tones climbing up a ladder. By entering the next space it became clear to me that this sound belonged to an actual piano and his player (Work No. 736: Piano accompaniment, 2007).

Knowing now where the sound had come from I lost interest in the actual work, which let me to wonder around in the space till I was watching a pile of arranged boxes (Work No. 916, 2008) when I caught a new sound. Something, that hold the middle between a fart and a sticking out of your tongue to your rivals sound, seemed to come out of all the artworks I laid my eyes on. Upon approaching the different artworks, however, I lost the sound connection, making me move on in the search of its origin. Ending up at a small sound speaker at the bottom of a staircase where I noticed out of the corner of my eye a change in light every other minute.

This switching light led me to enter the second level of the building where indeed the light was switchinh on and off (Work No. 227: The lights going on and off, 2000) to make place for short video clips (Work No. 670: Orson & Sparky, 2007) projected largely on one side of the space. On the other side of the space a sea of broccoli (Work No. 1000: Broccoli prints, 2009-10) engulfed the wall behind glass frames. I got fascinated by the way these frames picked up the switching light as well as the reflection of MOTHER. Her reflection revealed the secret behind her white neon light as with every rotation it showed her blue, green, yellow, pink and purple colours.

Moving up the stairs to the top level I started to see every part of the building as a possible participant of the exhibition. And not soon enough I was turning around when two works men entered the building carrying a bucket and gigantic pickaxe. Was this part of the exhibition or just a happy coincidence?
Turning another corner I encountered moving curtains (Work No. 990: A curtain opening and closing, 2009) that revealed the London skyline and made me go outside to get startled by a living car (Work No. 1686, 2013).

After having entered the exciting and calming balloon room (Work No. 200: Half the air in a given space, 1998) I went down the staircase where I halted at the toilet area because I heard some distinct sniggering, probably the most reassuring sound in a toilet block! Entering the small hall space in front of the toilets I discovered the source: another sound speaker protruded form the wall between the two entrance doors of the toilets.

Arriving at the exit I had a chance to leave all my shit behind by watching people puke and poop on screen (Work No. 503, 2006) in a line carpeted square room: Home.

You need to go and see this unique exhibition in the Hayward Gallery in London extended till the 5^th of May!

Sensing Spaces – Royal Academy of Arts

Posted on Mar 26, 2014 by annepoint

What to choose first?

Other than loosing myself completely to my sensible reactions on the atmospheres presented, I noticed two distinct things.
One, I became very aware of my almost obsessive search for light sources. After a few minutes of entering the space I would get my camera out and start a slow dance with the space, completely loosing track of time and social appearances. Initially creating a very intimate and privately secluded macro space within the space presented.
Secondly, I started to notice how rushed the human race is. Taking time is not so much a luxury as it seems to be a dissatisfaction. When stepping into any of the spaces it is up to the spectator to sense through sound, smell, touch, sight, abilities that seem to be numbed for a lot of us. Frustration is overlooked as an sense, which makes us rush through the spaces, demanding to be entertained. All these expectations of myself and others left me strangely pleasantly irritated.

Time keeps fascinating. Dare and you might find yourself slap bang in the centre.

Go and sense!

Till the 6th of April 2014 @ Royal Academy of Art, London.