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Borroughs Response

In the article, Borroughs describes the cut up. This is a technique where an artist literally will cut up a page of text and reassemble it randomly to create a new text. He relates this technique to collage, but withy words instead of images. While I can appreciate the desire to create poetry in a new, expirimental way, I am unsure how 'poetic' this technique actually is. I see a poet as a crafter or words, where as the cut up seems like artistic expirimentation. The question remains, though, is randomness art? In the definition of art as whatever someone is able to claim as art, the mere activity Borroughs describes would be concidered art. If, however, 'artistic technique' is considered then the argument may b e made that it is not art, but merely activity. Borroughs realizes this and says that its ease is part of how cut ups work. He writes, "Cut=ups are for everyone. Anoyong can make cut ups. It is experimental in the sense of being something to do." In this case, the final product seems to be art as much as the process of creation is artistic activity, and therefore, art.

Photoshop demonstration Photo

S-E-X-Oh!

S-E-X-Oh! is a play created and performed by a theatre group from Chicago called Teatro Luna. Teatro Luna is comprised entirely of Latina women. S-E-X-Oh! deals with the sexual lives, fears, and issues of the actors. The title comes from the opening and closing scenes which has all of the actors spelling the word that was so taboo in their childhood homes, "sexo." The play was comprised of mostly unconnected scenes put together with short snipets of music between. Each scene presented an event or issue of one or more of the women. Issues such as lesbian motherhood, love, childhood sexuality, and pregnancy were discussed through small scenes and short conversations. One of the most interesting parts of the performance came in a series of dispersed scenes through out the play. At some point, each actor came to center stage and had a recorded profile of themselves played. In these short profiles, the women brought up various body issues, which were mirrored by the backdrop. The backdrop consisted of photographs of the women with written commentary of what they think about the offending body part in question. There were also intercuts of one woman discussing her job as a phone sex operator and her interactions with perverts also known as her clients. Overall, the play was able to achieve its goals of openess about sexuality and womanhood and attainment of women power.

Dada

Schwitters


Merzbild 46 A. Das Kegelbild (Merzpicture 46 A. The Skittle Picture)
In this piece, Kurt Schwitters is using the dada technique of Assemblage. The piece features a seemingly random collection of wood and metal pieces. All of the pieces contained in the work seem fairly mundane and unimportant when looked at on their own. In combination, however, they form a 3D abstract collage, which moves the eye around the piece. The key to the piece, however, is the artist frame. This is what marks it as "Art." Through this piece, Schwitters is able to subvert the traditional definition of art while creating his own.

Bild mit Raumgewächsen (Picture with Spatial Growths)
or Bild mit 2 kleinen Hunden (Picture with 2 Small Dogs), 1920 and 1939
The technique of this piece is an abstract collage. Schwitter's combines a wide range of sources and types of 2D materials as the basis of this work. From a distance, the forms and use of positive and negative space capture the eye. Soon, one is drawn in close and the individual components of the piece which include ticket stubs, newspaper clippings, written notes, and even hair are revealed. By using a collection of materials that seem to be collected off the street or from the trash, Schwitter is again able to bring into question what it means to be art.

Journey Project mp3

This is my final mix of my audio journey project. The concept is a journey of the mind, from a place of hysterics to a place of peace. While traveling between these two destinations there is a time of complete chaos. Enjoy.

Outside Sources:
By Dynamicell (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/usersViewSingle.php?id=47052)
Fire_Forest_Inferno.aif (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=17548)
By martypinso (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/usersViewSingle.php?id=85523)
DMP010037 CRICKETS TEXAS .wav (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=22604)
By Jake Williams (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/usersViewSingle.php?id=40013)
footsteps upstairs hard floor indoors.wav (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=18171)
By Alithia (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/usersViewSingle.php?id=142037)
Autisme.WAV (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=23156)
By bondegi (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/usersViewSingle.php?id=235387)
threejackhammers.wav (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=30206)
By cognito perceptu (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/usersViewSingle.php?id=57789)
alarm.wav (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=18767)
By NoiseCollector (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/usersViewSingle.php?id=4948)
peace and anarchy6.wav (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=5616)
By studiorat (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/usersViewSingle.php?id=59647)
scream boom_01.wav (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=22350)
By loofa (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/usersViewSingle.php?id=149377)
BIG DOOR SHUT DOWN.aif (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=23579)

All other sounds recorded by me on minidisk with a flat mic.

Janet Cardiff

The radio clip describing Cardiff's Sound Journeys was less interview and more spliced together sound information. It seemed that the radio voices and Cardiff were independently describing various parts of her work, with clips used as examples. When compared to the clip, however, the description was indeed accurate. The sound was interactive and Janet Cardiff was incontrol of where the sounds make the listener go. By using the three levels of sound, Cardiff was able to create an entire world through only the aural senses. She was able to fade in and out a level of sound while maintaining her footsteps or voice. This technique creates a forced sense of movement. It makes the listener question, "what is reality?" By using the binaural recording technique, where sounds are recorded with specific mic placement that allows the sound to seem like it surrounds the listener, Cardiff is able to make the sounds seem intensely real in a surreal way. The sounds feel so close, yet our brain knows they are not, which causes a disjunction to occur amungst the senses that perpetuates the questioning of reality. One aspect I especially found interesting both in the interview and the piece is the idea of the layers of history a place can have. By looking through the entire history of a spot, Cardiff is able to transport you through time. This is especially interesting because of her choice in medium. Sound is a recording of time passage, and, as the radio clip said, walking is also a passage of time. These things combine beautifully as Cardiff attempts to transport the listener beyond where he or she is physically going. Every aspect of her work points the listener to a surreally real journey through space, time, and the museum's surrounding streets.