SHOWING WITHOUT GOING

Connections

Approaches

Making a deliberate decision to present only the voice may assist the ‘making present’ of those who cannot be physically present (for example, those who can’t show their face). 

The term ‘acousmatic sound’ means an invisible sound source, and can be relevant to voice. The term comes from ‘the Acousmatics’, pupils of the philosopher Pythagoras who listened to him deliver his lectures from behind a curtain (it was thought that visual distraction would impinge on the purity of his teachings.) In acousmatic art, one hears sound from behind a "veil" of loudspeakers, the source invisible.

#illusionofpresence

Approaches

Conversation on a mobile device, a fixed line or via mobile app. Through the phone call a listener experiences the sonic in various ways - a recorded sound or a live interaction where the receiver is passive or alive, participative interaction where the receiver responds to instructions for actual actions. There is an excitement in receiving a call to your own phone, experiencing a new voice and imagining the person behind the voice. As with any phone call, it might not be possible to ascertain for certain whether or not the person on the other end is who they are, where they say they are, or even perhaps if they are human or actually present. 

#participation #tools #illusionofpresence

 

Examples
600 Highwaymen

http://www.600highwaymen.org/a-thousand-ways/

Ona simple phone call, two audience members – nameless strangers to one another – follow a carefully crafted set of directives. Over the course of the journey, a portrait of each other emerges through fleeting moments of exposure and the simple sound of an unseen voice.

Spectrums
compromise
benefit

Spectrums
Fixed / pre-recorded
Live / responsive

Spectrums
Artist
Audience