Audio Archeology
listening to the past to hear the future
the importance of context -
consider the power of "remembering" the place, time, and cultural circumstances surrounding any historical event...
- consider the historical setting and the original "context" of the sounds i weave into these modern pieces. if you listen closely each recorded snippet betrays something about the era in which it was captured - era-specific clues, the likes of which date back to the earlier part of the last century. some of the most striking artifacts reveal themselves in the use of pedestrian language. patterns of speech (even colloquialisms) betray something about the collective ethos of the time of the recording. allow yourself to experience their illuminating imperfection. unadorned imperfection can be far more interesting than the perfect. reimagined imperfection can inform a reassessment of what is perfect; what is interesting; what is future.
- hear differently. when listening to something anew it's very much like remembering historical events with fresh recollection.
- these remembrances are especially vivid if the past event occurred within ones lifetime. even if the 'heard event' occurred outside the limits of ones natural life, the confrontation can still confer meaning.
consider how sound has the power to create vivid imagery that you cannot see with your eyes; mental pictures that capture impressions of spaces and places that can only be revealed again through auditory "remembering." this is what i call "contextual playback" - a process of listening that enables reimagining and revisioning that transcends time through the use of found sound and vintage recordings...
- listen differently. these pieces exagerate loosely connected themes through the examination of vintage recordings, found sound, unidentified voices, sonic appropriation, time misalignment, happenstance, and curious accidents. in this sense exploitation aids exploration. exploration leads to discovery/rediscovery. listening to the past allows us to hear the future.
