The Jeff Wall entry in "Artistic Edges" got my mind moving on the notion of "voice", especially when it comes to thinking about voice operative inside artistic activity. And once the issue of voice raised its head, mental machinery sprung the haunting question, "What do we mean by voice when talking about artwork?
Clearly the word voice can have multiple meanings; and with regard to artwork, it can involve any genre. Such spread/flexibility/elasticity in using the word makes the list of inherent operative phenomena connected with "voice" seem legion. So what goes on in voice? Are we talking here about things like soul action, interactive contexts and conditions, dialectical activities that involve the liveliness of modulation, inflection, intervals and time? Or taken from another angle, is voice better understood in terms of personality coupled with matters of style [which in turn includes some of the previous items]? Then again is voice better grasped as something indigenous and organic--a phenomenon deeply concerned with personal makeup, self-identity, and integrity all round? With all these possibilities in mind, is voice one item on the preceding descriptive list of words and phrases? Just some of these items? Perhaps all of these items? None of these--something quite different and unique to itself?
On the negative side, what prevents a distinguishing voice from emerging, that is, from asserting itself in a given artwork or act of making? Does the "no voice" problem imply a deficiency of craft, that is, poor knowledge/skill about some facet of the making process [a technical problem], or is the issue something deeper--something more psychological and spiritual--a problem more directly tied to the actual "content" of what the voice projects [including emotional content]? If this is the problem, then getting a handle on voice may involve issues like inadequate depth perception, insufficient personal risk, over use of linear/technological thinking that turns one's mental movements [with its latent voice] into something flat and colorless so that one judges results by saying, "but there is no their there." In other words, a non-voice with little that is distinguishing/remarkable/personally differentiating, especially in spark and tone.
As suggested previously, the preceding questions apply in some way to all genre in the arts. Hence, voice with its nuances and complications involve singers, dancers, poets, painters, playwrights, and movie directors. Moreover, the preceding questions also relate to issues that involve both a private and a public voice [audience matters], especially the "vocal" challenge of moving from one voice to the other. Too much attention to one can potentially kill the effectiveness of the other. For example, when moving from a private voice to a public one, the result often seems less dynamic and colorful. Why? Is the problem a failure on the part of the artist to risk? Lack of personal self-confidence? Too much outer-direction? Too strong a reliance on experts and/or authority? Too much worry over technique ? Too little project focus due to fear? Too much external social pressure so that a distinctiveness gets lost? Enter the intimidating critic from whatever place/location.
Now back to Jeff Wall. What does all the preceding have to do with him? Perhaps it is time to ask, what is the nature of his voice? Where does it come from and/or how does it come about? Which of his works render voice most distinctly? Most effectively? And why?
Perhaps the moral of the story about a voice is this--"know thyself." And when you have found a self, "speak it"--fearlessly and honestly. Pastiche has its limits.
(This is a cut and paste from work originally posted by Donna)
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
What makes up the artistic 'voice'?
Once again I must start my exploration of artistic voice from my own experience. I am first a singer, second I have a strong ability to identify others by voice (an asset on the phone, where I make some of my living) and finally I have been trained in music arts and as a singer.
Voices produced by human and other acoustic instruments, violins, guitars, drums etc. (let's rule out electronic instruments for now) can be analyzed from an acoustic perspective, or through the physics of sound. The first striking element is the presence of overtones to differentiate one voice from another. Two bass drums made with, say wood, string and a skin will produce different voices, even if drawing from the same pieces of wood, skin and string. One of those drums might get played every day, the other one stays in the hallway, looking great but making nary a sound. The one that gets played changes timbre over time. The changes can be heard or they can be notated through analysis of overtones, which ones and how many are present.
The artist playing the instrument (or singing) will choose over time to make adjustments to her sound. The same is true for an artist composing a piece of music, a photograph or a painting or movie. In performative media (singing, dancing, any live performance) each performance is the instance of the art piece. With plastic arts, each produced piece is also an instance. Some artists like Van Gogh might produce more than 50 pieces that all contain the same basic content, yet each piece is different. And Van Gogh and Gaugin also tried painting the same subject, multiple times in the presence of each other, yet all the pieces produced were different. I would again point to use of overtone for differentiation.
Voices produced by human and other acoustic instruments, violins, guitars, drums etc. (let's rule out electronic instruments for now) can be analyzed from an acoustic perspective, or through the physics of sound. The first striking element is the presence of overtones to differentiate one voice from another. Two bass drums made with, say wood, string and a skin will produce different voices, even if drawing from the same pieces of wood, skin and string. One of those drums might get played every day, the other one stays in the hallway, looking great but making nary a sound. The one that gets played changes timbre over time. The changes can be heard or they can be notated through analysis of overtones, which ones and how many are present.
The artist playing the instrument (or singing) will choose over time to make adjustments to her sound. The same is true for an artist composing a piece of music, a photograph or a painting or movie. In performative media (singing, dancing, any live performance) each performance is the instance of the art piece. With plastic arts, each produced piece is also an instance. Some artists like Van Gogh might produce more than 50 pieces that all contain the same basic content, yet each piece is different. And Van Gogh and Gaugin also tried painting the same subject, multiple times in the presence of each other, yet all the pieces produced were different. I would again point to use of overtone for differentiation.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
The view from my window
Let's face it, you either love an air show or, like somewhat like pro-football, you sneer at it, decrying its commercial and consumerist nature. How could anybody spend all that money and especially all that non-renewable energy on this!
My bad.
I now live approximately 1125 feet in the air facing one of the most gorgeous natural spaces in the third coast area. My box of living space overlooks the south pond of a midwestern zoo, near the largest white sand beach in town (including those amazing guy and gal-athlete amazons called volleyball pros) which provides amazing views of blue, grey and sometimes frozen lake vistas. After living in a sometimes spacious but dark basement all my life, small but beautiful finally has a meaning to me. And don't forget that small means clean up is actually easy. Ok, it's not hose it down style, but compared to ginormous American home-is-my-castle living, this is pretty nifty.
Most evenings I come home from the ever present day job to choose between tv and THAT VIEW. Guess which one wins? But I have one problem. I'm allergic to noise. Ever since I can remember I cannot stand the loud bump in the night. So Air and Water anything was a slice of YOUKNOWHAT.
To be fair as a small child I witnessed some evil things that always involved BANG at the end; hold ups outside, robberies inside, burnings and and worse. And then later the real bad thing: coup attempt in a small northern African country including guns, rocket launchers, bombs and tanks - curfew took on a whole new meaing. Absolutely no one from the American Embassy was on hand, just when I had the need. The heck with civilized life, apparently local folks will help...and they surely did.
So to my complete surprise I finally SAW the A&W show. Seeing and feeling that show is radically different. I still winced at the noise, but something so big it makes your entire body vibrate must be given its due. And check out these techno-amazing details. It's free. I know we pay for it, it's an advertizement for the might of the military. Since so many of our children now participate, at least let them aim for perfection; although they make it look easy, I'm betting it is difficult to fly 5 feet away from someone else at 400 MPH.
In contrast and with no prior planning I also managed to be on-hand to see the first (and indeed most of the) runners in this year's Chicago marathon. The only noise for this event was really big cheering. Repeatedly. Boy, I like those spectators. Most them are probably neighbors, but some come from a distance to cheer for friends. I had to be a part of that, so for once I found my view couldn't do everything and I nipped over to the park for some ground level ruckus.
My bad.
I now live approximately 1125 feet in the air facing one of the most gorgeous natural spaces in the third coast area. My box of living space overlooks the south pond of a midwestern zoo, near the largest white sand beach in town (including those amazing guy and gal-athlete amazons called volleyball pros) which provides amazing views of blue, grey and sometimes frozen lake vistas. After living in a sometimes spacious but dark basement all my life, small but beautiful finally has a meaning to me. And don't forget that small means clean up is actually easy. Ok, it's not hose it down style, but compared to ginormous American home-is-my-castle living, this is pretty nifty.
Most evenings I come home from the ever present day job to choose between tv and THAT VIEW. Guess which one wins? But I have one problem. I'm allergic to noise. Ever since I can remember I cannot stand the loud bump in the night. So Air and Water anything was a slice of YOUKNOWHAT.
To be fair as a small child I witnessed some evil things that always involved BANG at the end; hold ups outside, robberies inside, burnings and and worse. And then later the real bad thing: coup attempt in a small northern African country including guns, rocket launchers, bombs and tanks - curfew took on a whole new meaing. Absolutely no one from the American Embassy was on hand, just when I had the need. The heck with civilized life, apparently local folks will help...and they surely did.
So to my complete surprise I finally SAW the A&W show. Seeing and feeling that show is radically different. I still winced at the noise, but something so big it makes your entire body vibrate must be given its due. And check out these techno-amazing details. It's free. I know we pay for it, it's an advertizement for the might of the military. Since so many of our children now participate, at least let them aim for perfection; although they make it look easy, I'm betting it is difficult to fly 5 feet away from someone else at 400 MPH.
In contrast and with no prior planning I also managed to be on-hand to see the first (and indeed most of the) runners in this year's Chicago marathon. The only noise for this event was really big cheering. Repeatedly. Boy, I like those spectators. Most them are probably neighbors, but some come from a distance to cheer for friends. I had to be a part of that, so for once I found my view couldn't do everything and I nipped over to the park for some ground level ruckus.
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