rifarrell

May 9, 2019 by rifarrell

The Sight of Sound

Imagery enlivens and enlightens my surroundings. In kindergarten, I was obsessed with a phonetic sound book with buttons embedded into the pages that would light up with different colors dependent on the letter on the page above. I distinctly remember the “z” page containing a purple button, and the letter “c” accompanied by red. Now, when I travel on airplanes, I have made it a habit to listen to music and imagine appropriate music videos or visuals. Visuals, whether imagined by the audience or intentionally presented by the artist, do not necessarily change the meaning of the voice or what is being said, but help to clarify it. It is unfair to view these different sensory features as separate or opposing approaches. Instead, they exist in a unified and mutualistic symbiosis. In this class, we were encouraged to examine the implications of voice, noise, and sound. Most importantly to me, though, the class also underwent a thorough investigation of “sense”.

The visual dubbing in Bad Lip Reading transformed bizarre sentences into humorous yet believable caricatures. Iggy Azalea’s reinvention of her identity was detailed in her music and visually displayed in her music videos. Hiwa K’s This Lemon Tastes of Apple was an audio-visual presentation, where the audio of the harmonica being played and the shouting protestors was amplified and accompanied by the video of those marching demonstrators. Hiwa K recognizes the importance of the combination of these two sensory approaches. He does not need to translate the voices of the Kurdish protesters, because “the work brings through the image and the music the atmosphere of the momentum”(Szylak, This Lemon Tastes of Apple Description). These examinations demonstrated the ways in which visuals were integrated with sound to elaborate upon the tonality and substance of the creation. More subtly, the imagery evoked in Jordan Scott’s blert was a useful tool in drawing meaning from seemingly nonsensical phrases, and DJ Spooky the Subliminal Kid’s Rhythm Science used visual art to re-address and re-contextualize his terminology of sound within a broader, multi-sensory context. I wrote about the importance of imagery in my essay Truth Outside of Reality. Danez Smith delivers their poetry with a voice full of potent visuals and their physical expression becomes inseparable from the words inside the poem.

“Smith’s focus on passion and expression highlight a way in which performance can be transformed into personal introspection and exploration.”

In Smith’s descriptive and personal poetry, visuals not only serve as techniques to intrigue the listener but as a means for the author to authentically and accessibly convey their personal experience to an audience.

I really enjoyed learning about R. Murray Schafer’s idea of soundscapes being modes to evaluate auditory input within a visual, tactile environment. The suffix “-scape” denotes a scene being portrayed, and there is an integral connection between soundscapes and the visuals surrounding them. To me, soundscapes appeal to what Jonathan Sterne refers to as our “auditory imagination”, the “feeling for syllable and rhythm … sinking to the most primitive and forgotten, returning to the origin and bringing something back” (Sterne, 5). Auditory imagination draws on the primordial power of sound to bring forth and create. This imagination, being “synaesthetic”(Sterne, 5), uses one sense to stimulate another. According to this terminology, sound does not merely imply imagery; it creates and galvanizes it, drawing it forth and giving it meaning. This consideration was certainly thought-provoking – I think I have always prioritized visual signals over auditory ones. I also reflected upon Schafer’s argument that sound perception is not an “abstractable discipline … but one sense receptor among many,” (Schafer, 5) and therefore, soundscapes “must be integrated into that wider study of the total environment”. Roland Barthes describes the “grain of the voice” (Barthes, 506) as the interplay of the articulation of spoken sounds and the physical expression of the speaker, which is the visual element of the voice, to communicate meaning and inspire ideas. These insights further demonstrate the interconnected and overlapping nature of our sensory receptors and inspire an interesting consideration regarding the study of soundscapes, because they indicate that soundscapes both create, include, and rely on the visual components of their surroundings.

My love for visual art inspired me to try and create visual documentation of the interaction of a soundscape being present within a physical landscape. I was interested in the idea of how soundscapes interact with barriers, and how these perceived boundaries encourage or inhibit the soundscape would evaluate. I decided to create a drawing of the space and record how I visually perceived the sound. I chose to approach the assignment in this way because it provided a more immersive experience and offered a way for me to document my thought process and my perception of a soundscape while visualizing the environment.

Throughout the school year, I have enjoyed studying in this somewhat secluded spot on the south lawn of Chambers. This is a quiet part of campus, far away from many classrooms and social functions. The lawn is very much enclosed, as it is shut off on one side by the Martin Chemistry Laboratory and the Wall Academic Center on one side, and the Sloan Music Center on the other. The back side of Chambers blocks this square of lawn off from the rest of campus, and the busy Concord Street rushes by, cutting this lawn off from being part of the town of Davidson. I have always valued isolation that this lawn provides, as it is a definite part of campus, but feels so separate. In this project, I was encouraged to consider how the road acts as a dividing line, or a sort of sonic boundary, between the soundscape of Davidson College, and the residential homes just across the street. Sound is abstract concept when translated to visual imagery. Rather than attempting to draw musical notes or sound waves, I set out to depict how I visualized the differing sounds in the soundscape.

The keynote sound of this environment was the construction that was occurring further down, towards the intersection of Main and South Street. When I first arrived at the lawn, this was irritating, and I represented this sound as very noticeable and jarring (in the top right), but as time went on, the sound receded into the background, and I chose to have it merge with the tree’s foliage to represent that though it was present, I had adapted it and accepted it as a feature of the environment. A helicopter whirred by, producing unwanted sound, or noise. The rhythmic beating evoked concentric circles in the top left, and while the helicopter moved further into the distance, the presence of the helicopter within the soundscape diminished, as did the size of the circles. The road is the strongest partition between the quiet college campus and the town of Davidson. Two children were playing on their front porch across the street, but I could not hear them as cars rushed by loudly, but unlike the helicopter, their sound was not jarring and was far more of a continual stream of sound that I could not traverse. I decided to visually conceptualize this sonic barrier as a force rushing through the street, blurring and smearing the landscape behind it, mirroring the way the sound across the street was cut out of the soundscape due to the Concord Street’s noise level.

Though I often feel the necessity to categorize myself as such, I have recently been attempting to consciously avoid labeling myself as a “visual thinker.” As I considered this final essay, I repeatedly turned towards that idea and had to catch myself before I wandered down that rabbit hole of clichés and generalizations. Thinking is a conglomeration of different sensory features, and to label my thought process as a sequence of translating terms and stimuli into visuals feels like a capitulation that discredits the other sensory aspects of my thought process. I cannot purport to be a linguist, or an audiologist, or a musician, or anyone who can consider sound technically. However, this course provided the invaluable opportunity for me to critically understand sound, not for its own sake, but for the broader social implications it possesses, and the way it relates and operates amongst the other senses.

WORKS CITED

Szylak, Aneta. “This Lemon Tastes of Apple.” Hiwa K. 2011.

http://www.hiwak.net/projects/lemon-tastes/

Sterne, Jonathan. “Sonic Imaginations,” in The Sound Studies Reader, edited by Jonathan Sterne, 4–12. New York: Routledge, 2012.

Schafer, R. Murray. “The Soundscape,” in The Sound Studies Reader, edited by Jonathan Sterne, 95–103. New York: Routledge, 2012.

Barthes, Roland.“The Grain of the Voice.” in The Sound Studies Reader, edited by Jonathan Sterne, 504 – 510. New York: Routledge, 2012.

March 22, 2019 by rifarrell

Truth Outside of Reality

“You’ve got a song you’re singing from your gut, you want that audience to feel it in their gut. And you’ve got to make them think that you’re one of them sitting out there with them too. They’ve got to be able to relate to what you’re doing.” Johnny Cash’s words on artistic integrity and authenticity regard music as a means to relate to others. Even when Johnny Cash sings about fictional events, he upholds this principle. Murder ballads, for example, are a genre of music that detail killings, and are most times sung from the perspective of the murderer. Often, the subject matter deals with vengeance for infidelity or unrequited love. A song that is archetypal of this genre is Johnny Cash’s rendition of Banks of the Ohio. The slow and rhythmic style is similar to folk music, and the song begins, as most in this genre do, as a song of longing for love, as the chorus of the song is:

In no others arms entwined.

“And only say that you’ll be mine

Down beside where the waters flow

Down by the banks of the Ohio.”

Other modes of media, such as scary stories use multiple sensory stimuli to provoke fear, using both vocal intonations and physical expressions to add suspense and shock. Other songs describing violent acts or murder such as death metal vocals use growling and screaming tones and frightening instrumental composition to create a uniform piece of dark, violent entertainment. Contrast the above murder ballad with $uicideboy$’s Carrollton, another a song exploring violence, in which the overall sound reflects the subject matter. The explicit lyrics, thumping bass, and violent pitch of the artists’ voices function to disconcert the listener. $uicideboy$ are remarkable manipulators of the aesthetic relationship between lyrics and composition.

When contrasted with Carrollton Johnny Cash’s Banks of the Ohio, does not strongly indicate the disturbing story being told apart from the lyrics. Murder ballads create sinister narratives without manipulating the musical notes or the artist’s vocal tone. While genres such as death metal and horrorcore reflect the lyrical meaning in the sound of the song, in murder ballads, the lyrics do all the work of telling the story. Murder ballads are soulfully performed in the same way as other songs, but do not employ dramatic expression as a performative element. Murder ballad artists are not necessarily drawing from true, first-hand experiences with murder, but are instead taking on roles and acting as performers. The artist’s voice and instrumental accompaniment translate a fictional narrative into an engrossing and tragic piece of art, devoid of grand performative flourishes and frightful musical arrangement. The compelling, narrative nature of the songs gives them value and authenticity, regardless of whether they are based in experiences in reality. Our ideas of authenticity are subverted; the distance grows between what is real, and what is true. Truth, or authenticity, can be achieved through the soul and emotion present in a piece of work. Poet Danez Smith treads this line expertly as they compose pieces surrounding their identity. Conceptually, performance seems to imply an act, but Smith is able to use performing as a means to authentically express their identity through the use of theatrical displays and passion in their voice.

Performative work allows the listener to engage with the experiences of the performer. Poetry is often considered a very personal and introspective art form and is therefore many times questioned regarding its authenticity. Poetry seeks to evoke feelings and engage readers through prose. One aspect of written poetry that seemingly cannot be repeated in spoken verse is the ability the reader has to connect or associate with the emotions, experiences, and memories evoked through literary prose or word choice. For example, in Danez Smith’s poem Self-Portrait as a 90s R&B Video, the long, rambling sentences and lack of capitalization convey the broader meaning behind the piece. Their detailed, twisting fantasy is full of rage, lust, and jealousy, but is also a vision of perfection. The imagery and prose create Smith’s new world. Author and critic Dan Chiasson claims that Danez Smith’s written poetry “forces you, the reader, to say aloud, to embody, the words, while leaving a gap for the inevitable differences of race or gender identity, of illness and health, that might sometimes seem unbridgeable”. However, I would argue that written poetry allows the reader to bring their individual experiences or identities to the work, rather than reading the poem strictly from Smith’s perspective. This poem is not read the same way by a black, genderqueer HIV-positive individual such as Smith as it would be for a straight white individual. Internalized privilege, bias, and experience create latitude for how the reader reads the piece, whether the reader wishes be totally enveloped in the poem, recall their own experiences or familiar aspects of the poem, or read as a detached observer.

However, Smith chooses to present this work through spoken verse. Here, Smith is enabled to set the scene on their own terms. Through vocalized poetry and Smith’s choice of emphasis, tone, volume, and expression, the reader is afforded a glimpse into Smith’s personal identity and motivation behind the poem. When Danez Smith is the reader, the listeners understand that the poem is about Smith’s experience, taking in the poem and applying it to themselves. This is is prone to happen when written poetry is detached from its author. Though it is a recollection of personal experiences and a manifestation of personal feelings and insecurities, Smith’s work is intentional, dramatic, and performative, as they display their identity to the viewer through differing vocal modes, dramatic expressions, and flourishes. This is an attempt for the viewers to try and glean some knowledge of the identity of a person who may come from a wildly different background. When Danez Smith chooses to perform their work, it is deeply authentic not only to their own identity but to the audience as well. The crowd does not make the performance less personal. The audience is invited to understand a part of their story, so Smith’s poetry clearly demonstrates how poetry can be a form of authentic, performative education through artistic expression. Danez Smith chooses different inflections, gestures, and emotional emphases dependent on their poems, but their recital of poetry reflects the performative nature of their work, retaining the aspects that give it authenticity throughout. Regarding the audience, Smith asserts, “I never want them to feel the same at the beginning of a poem as they do at the end”. The goal is to sway the reader and to evoke feelings in them. It is understandable, then, that Smith would use theatrical performance to draw the audience in.

Smith takes a different approach to performing the poem Undetectable. The only available mode of listening to Smith recite this poem is through a vocal recording. Undetectable uses symbolic imagery and attention-grabbing statements to explore the individual and societal consequences of Smith’s HIV-positive status. In this poem, Smith is speaking about their undetectable HIV, which is when the bloodstream is almost completely ridden of the virus but still contains trace amounts. Danez Smith recites the poem in an uncharacteristically non-dramatic way. They do not emphasize the powerful, dramatic lines, such as the consideration of a murdered boy who “makes the whole forest a grave.” The meaning of the poem is undetectable in the way it is performed, echoing the “undetectable” nature of the virus. However, these lines that Smith practically whispers are laden with passion, emotion, and spirit. The poem sounds somber and subdued, but certainly not uninspired, and rather than being prosaic, the poem is deeply personal. Similar to the murder ballads, this authenticity stems from the way it is performed, and not from dramatic reading. Reading this poem, all sorts of emotions could be interpreted from the descriptive imagery. Listening to Smith read this poem, however, the reader can experience the poem the way the author intended it to be experienced. Even when stripped of dramatism in the voice and physical expression, the poem is still deeply authentic. That authenticity makes the poem vibrant, and that vibrancy lends itself to the performativity of the poem. In Danez Smith’s work, there is a reciprocal relationship between performativity and authenticity. Self-Portrait as a 90s R&B Video shows how Smith uses dramatic, performative flourishes to exhibit authenticity and genuine feeling in the poem, while Undetectable exhibits Smith’s ability to draw on aspects of their identity to create an authentic, engaging performance.

While Danez Smith’s work tends to be reflective of their identity, not all work requires experiential authenticity, only authentic feeling in the performance. This is the way in which poetry ought to be approached. In class, we set time discussing the unfortunate phenomenon of poet’s voice, and its relationship with sincerity in poetry. Poet’s voice, referred to by Cara Giamo as a “sonic uniform” donned by poets, is a facade of traditional artistry masking an insincere cultural norm. Poet’s voice is monotonous, with a distinctive, halting cadence and pattern, and an emotionless, lofty way of reciting poetry. Danez Smith’s style of reading poetry defies this artistic standard. Through genuine and powerful expression, Smith is able to attain truthfulness in fiction, and performativity in simplicity. Smith’s focus on passion and expression highlight a way in which performance can be transformed into personal introspection and exploration.

Works Cited:

Barker, Emily. The Wise Words Of Johnny Cash. nme.com, https://www.nme.com/photos/the-wise-words-of-johnny-cash-1428023. Accessed 20 March, 2019.

Rick Rubin. Banks of the Ohio, Johnny Cash. Genius, https://genius.com/Johnny-cash-banks-of-the-ohio-lyrics. Accessed 1 March, 2019.

User ricdmt101. Johnny Cash – Banks of the Ohio. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmwLUhejboo. Accessed 28 Feb., 2019.

G*59 Records. Carrollton. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOlVSngnC-o/. Accessed March 18, 2019.

Button Poetry. Danez Smith – Self-Portrait as a 90s R&B Video. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOE7O9pkczY. Accessed 22 Feb., 2019

Smith, Danez. DARK CHILD NAH NAH (OR SELF-PORTRAIT AS 90S R&B VIDEO). The Adroit Journal, https://theadroitjournal.org/issue-nineteen-danez-smith-the-adroit-journal/. Accessed 1 March, 2019.

Chiasson, Dan. Danez Smith’s Ecstatic Body Language. The New Yorker, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/10/02/danez-smiths-ecstatic-body-language. Accessed 10 March, 2019.

Staff, Harriet. The White Review Interviews Danez Smith. poetryfoundation.org, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2018/06/the-white-review-interviews-danez-smith. Accessed 12 March, 2019.

Smith, Danez. “Undetectable”. The New Yorker, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/10/08/undetectable. Accessed 22 Feb., 2019.

Giamo, Cara. An Algorithmic Investigation of the Highfalutin ‘Poet Voice’. Atlas Obscura, https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/cultural-analysis-poet-voice. Accessed 22 Feb., 2019.

March 1, 2019 by rifarrell

Hiwa K Exhibit Response

During our visit to the Hiwa K’s Eyes See Far, Hands Too Short to Reach, I was particularly struck by the View From Above piece. Hiwa K narrates a fictional story of an immigrant who has been denied refugee status because his town is not considered an “unsafe zone”, so therefore lies about living in an unsafe town. The narration is low and at times almost muted, making the narration into a more personal, engaging conversation with the viewer. The visuals of a destroyed Iraqi city and the calm voice give the piece an unsettling undertone, while the deep black background contributes to the feeling of heavy dread. Hiwa K’s use of visuals is frightening, and yet his voice is calming. The narrator also talks about how voice cannot reach as far as sight, and how hands cannot reach as far as voice. This disjointed relationship between sight and voice underscores the disjointed and contradictory relationship of having to prove ones endangerment in order to be safe.