Two artists have had a particular impact on me in this topic of ‘Mapping the soundscape’ – Janet Cardiff and Susan Philipsz.
Janet Cardiff created the work ‘40 part motet‘ in which 40 people sang ‘Spem in Alium‘, which was then played on 40 different speakers in the Rideau Chapel in the Canadian and Indigenous Galleries. The different voices were organised in certain spaces to create a ‘sculpture from the sound’ according to Cardiff.
(from https://corridor8.co.uk/article/janet-cardiff-the-forty-part-motet-baltic/)
’40 Part Motet’, Janet Cardiff. 40-track audio installation; 14 minutes in duration. 2001.
The impact of the 40 voices singing is moving, and the human aspect of this piece is something that deeply appeals to me (I had also not thought of these things as art before and feel this opened my mind up to other potential mediums I could use). In relation to this, Cardiff also insisted on recording the intermission, in which coughing, chattering, bustling and other general sounds could be heard in between performances. This is striking to me – hearing little parts of human interactions and being able to observe these little intimate sounds is very fascinating.
‘Lowlands’ by Susan Philipsz. 2010. Sound installation under three bridges in Glasgow, performing a 16th century Scottish ballad.
‘Lowlands’ by Susan Philipsz is another piece in which the human voice is used, singing a ballad, as an art work. Once again the artist has used the audio to connect to the environment with a particular story: ‘Lowlands’ – 16th century ballad singing of a woman dreaming of her dead lover who drowned at sea. This is relevant to the space used to present the work – under bridges that go over the Clyde in Glasgow. The work creates a narration of its environment to the audience.
Sources:
- https://www.gallery.ca/whats-on/exhibitions-and-galleries/janet-cardiff-forty-part-motet-2
- https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/susan-philipsz-war-damaged-musical-instruments/philipsz-introduction
