Listen to your body. Talk to plants. Ignore people. An oddly inspiring image I found in a.rena
A break, I guess?
Project week! No classes for the week means a break, I suppose? Unfortunately not, we had our RPO (research proposal outline) due the following week so we really needed to start working on them soon. Progress wise, I think I'm doing fairly okay. Though writing isn't exactly my strongest suit, I'm trying to work through the outline slowly.
Nonetheless, I have some inspirations I would like to share / dump here: artist works that coincide with what I've been thinking about so far.
Source: thisiscolossal.com
Swiss Sound artist Zimoun's large-scale installations and kinetic sculptures demand attention through various configurations comprising of simple, everyday objects. For example, sticks and foam balls attached to a wire; small ball chains and metal discs. The sound is produced simply by motorizing one portion with a motor, causing them to shake and shuffle back and forth. With multiple of these structures, the subtle sound becomes a loud force – demanding attention from the listener.
Source: thisiscolossal.com
I first discovered Zimoun through a design blog. What struck me most was his use of repeated kinetic structures made from everyday objects – each producing its own unique flurry of rattling sounds depending on the materials used.
Looking at his work, I thought back on the exploration of tiny sounds I was doing earlier. After that little test with the DC motor last week, I felt at a loss. What was the purpose of all this?
Zimoun's work reminded me that maybe I didn't need a set purpose to carry out that tiny sounds experiment. To me, his installations felt like a thought piece; getting people to pause, slow down, and simply listen to the cacophony of subtle sounds produced by such configurations. Perhaps, there isn't a need to overly curate the sound I wanted to make. The material used doesn't have to be incredibly advanced as well. This thought was reassuring for me, though I still feel a little unclear on how to proceed from here.
Another artist I stumbled across lately is Cologne-based Korean artist Hye Young Sin, exploring entanglements of sound through compositions, sculptures, performances and installations.
Her work is a little bit different from Zimoun's: instead of repetitive movements, the objects she uses are often unpredictable or reminiscent of everyday objects. By motorizing these objects, they come to life, creating sounds that sometimes resemble ant hills or cities. What I like about her work is the usage of everyday items, ranging from food packaging, to bottles, and tin cans.
One work that stood out to me was "trashes", where she created mini moving "machines" made out of her everyday trash. Using motors and actuators, she brings these trashes to life, creating sounds from different materials.
Source: hyeyoungsin.com