RIP NJP

one of my favorite artists (nam june paik) who's well-known for his affiliation with one of my favorite art movements (fluxus) has died.

find out more about him.
find out more about fluxus.

Especially Super Soundopportunity

a few posts ago (time is a curious measure in blog-land) dealt with how to build a recording studio in the comfort of your own home, but perhaps you'd like not only access to technology but also a little bit more in the guidance/support category. if this is the case and you happen to live in the chicagoland region you should most definitely check out the Experimental Sound Studio's 2006 Artists in Residency program.

the program is open to sonic artsis and 'non-sonic' artists alike, so don't think that just because you've never dabbled with a microphone or pro tools session you're not eligible. this is an opportunity for sound artists but also for anyone working in another field or medium to take the plunge and pick up that microphone. or open that pro tools session. [but it's kind of like you'd be wearing water wings. remember those?]

proposals will be accepted from march 1 - april 15.
download an application and guidelines here.

good luck. we expect great things from you.

as slow as possible

in honor of the piano that's newly arrived in my life...

a couple weeks ago a chord was struck in a church in halberstadt, germany, in the perhaps best described as leisurely performance of john cage's "organ2/ASLSP" (As SLow aS Possible).

the piece was originally written to span 20 minutes on the piano but has been re-interpreted for the organ and stretched to last instead 639 years. The particular organ on which organ2/ASLSP is being played was built in 1361 and was the first with a 12 note fingering system (a quite important development in modern music...)

this lucky chord - A, C and F#, will have the pleasure of ringing out for a few years, aided in this by weights administered to the organ specially for this project.

keep your ears open for the next notes, two Es, scheduled for may 5th.

so you want to build a recording studio...

there's a lot of interest out there in making audio stories and working in radio these days, and now, more than ever before, setting up your own home studio is a very realistic thing to consider. while an expensive college education followed by years spent slaving away as an intern until you finally, finally score the job you think you've always wanted is _one_ way to pursue a career in radio... transom.org is sharing enough information to get you started and well on your way toward audio storytelling, all within the relative proximity of the cookie jar on your kitchen counter.

transom's an invaluable research in general, for anybody with a curious brain that's especially inclined toward dialogue and the exploration of new work for the airwaves or the Internet. there's also a lot of specific information about equipment (model comparisons and 'reviews' of different machines) and considering the number of questions i get about this sort of thing (which i can rarely answer sufficiently myself) i'm super grateful it's there to share with others.

art's got a birthday too - january 17th

sure, it's tough enough remembering your friends' or family members' birthdays (sorry, lew!), but here's another date you may want to file away somewhere - january 17 - the official birthday of the phenomenon commonly known (though not easily defined) as "art." according to french artist robert filliou, at some point art didn't exist, and then one day...it did. this happened to occur in the month of january, on the 17th in fact. filliou proposed this theory in 1963, suggesting that hence forth the day be marked by birthday celebrations for art worldwide, and indeed ever since artists everywhere have been planning various performances and festivities to commemorate the day.

there are so many ways to celebrate art's birthday. in case you're having some trouble coming up with something, here are a few suggestions: you can cook a tasty meal and set a plate for art or you can take a long walk like these folks or you can tune into a stream of sound "presents" for art or you can even drop a piano off a building. however you choose to do it, know that you're not alone - art fans all over the world are celebrating too.

happy birthday, art!

happeningstance

every year the center for documentary studies at duke university holds a documentary fest called the happening, which gathers documentarians from north carolina and beyond for a weekend full of all sorts of docu-activities. the happening used to be all about film and video but has expanded to include audio and multimedia documentary projects, and according to the call for submissions, they define the notion of documentary "quite broadly."

we like that.

it's coming up march 3 - 5 in durham, NC and all are welcome to submit work to be considered for presentation during the weekend (for a very reasonable $25.) the submission deadline is february 1.

more information here including a downloadable submission form.

i would be remiss if i didn't mention that the CDS is one of my favorite organizations in the world. spent two of the best professional (?) years of my life working there, without a doubt. so if you happen to get there for the happening... give my regards to the wonderful staff, the beautiful galleries and library and the widest most perfect front porch you could possibly imagine. and don't miss the chance to sit a spell on the porch swing...

seeking sound advice

and now - a question. for you. yes, you!

do you know of any radio, sound or audio-related galleries, museums, music venues or other points of destination (mountaintops?) in switzerland that are worth visiting? please tell me about them!

which brings me to another question i just thought of while typing the above question. what's the exact difference between 'sound' and 'audio'? i felt distinctly compelled to list both. though i'm not exactly sure if/how they subtley convey different meanings.

a quick check over at dictionary.com reveals this:

sound (sound) n.
1. Vibrations transmitted through an elastic solid or a liquid or gas, with frequencies in the approximate range of 20 to 20,000 hertz, capable of being detected by human organs of hearing.

audio (note: the true phonetic spelling wouldn't copy or paste due to strange symbols and accents embedded within. but we all know how to pronounce audio. i think.) adj.
1. Of or relating to humanly audible sound.

mystery solved. they're officially redundant. but lists sound best with three ingredients, so the question stands as is.

wanted: home recordings

turns out if you do a google image search for 'happy new year horse' you get a whopping 241 depictions to choose from. here's my favorite crappy, pixelated happy new years greeting with a horse and a bad font choice.

i missed the opportunity to share information about two excellent new years day radio broadcasts earlier today, and so while it's not exactly a resolution, i have reminded myself that there's a reason i started this blog thingy, and so i intend to be a bit more diligent about actually posting to it on a more regular basis. with that - i offer the following opportunity (thanks joan) and urge you to participate.

may 2006 treat your ears well.


Home Recording - Send us your Home Recording by January 12


As part of an upcoming exhibition/ project to take place in Curitiba Brazil, Octavio Camargo & Brandon LaBelle are collecting recordings of people's homes from around the city. These recordings will form the basis for an installation at Ybakatu Gallery, which formerly was the home of the gallery owner, where she lived and grew up through the 70s & 80s.

To further the project we are inviting the contribution of audio Home Recordings from around the globe: we'll collect these and make them available on CD-R to gallery visitors, as well as incorporate them into a radio broadcast we will be making during the time of the exhibition in Curitiba. We welcome your Home Recording!

*Send final recordings (duration: preferably 1 - 5 minutes) before January 12th to: blabelle@earthlink.net
Home Recordings can be made through various approaches, from ambient soundscapes during breakfast to single sounds. We welcome your interpretation of this idea.

related website:
http://www.errantbodies.org