SASKIA F HUBERT

BA SOUND ART '18

[sfhubert]

(RITES OF UNISON)

New Track: 

[sfhubert]

Cut by Charlotte Rutherford, FX Design by Felix Geen, Sound by Saskia F Hubert

[sfhubert]

A Collaboration I did with Louisiane Trotobas providing 49 different sounds that play in harmony with each randomly chosen cube. 

“Listen to sound in other ways than by the common sense of hearing — An interactive experience designed to bridge sound and tactility to create a new alternative audio experience.

Alternative is inspired by different ways of listening and hope to create tangible audio experience through the use of tech-nology and craft technique. By collaborating closely with two sound designers, Alternative hopes to empower users to cre-ate music on their own through touch and experimentation. Through the use of tangible objects and encourage tactile learning, listening becomes a sensory experience instead of a rather passive task.”

[sfhubert]

This work was made as part of the Collaboration with Liam J Sproston for 2001: New Horizons at Atrium Gallery

[sfhubert]

TRIZTAN

In Triztan I wanted to explore the aesthetic of a muezzin call to prayer after coming across this particular one. I thought about the possibility of placing this call to prayer in a club space and cre

In Triztan I wanted to explore the aesthetic of a muezzin call to prayer after coming across this particular one. I thought about the possibility of placing this call to prayer in a club space and creating a new connection between an audience that might not have heard it before or is familiar with it by their roots or travels. The focus lies in expanding our knowledge concerning the of tonality of voice and placing it in a rhythmic environment that is progressing with individual dynamic while simultaneously providing enough space the expansion of the call to prayer

[sfhubert]

New Years

On New Years Eve I went out to my local Techno club back home in Leipzig and  felt like I gained a new focus on the texture of Techno. Cem Dukkah of Herrensauna played from 8 am till12 am which gave him the opportunity to develop his musical presence inside a space that could not fit his industrial techno characteristics  more. I felt like I entered a new reality in the concept of presenting aesthetics in sound that equal a contemporary sound experience. In exchange with other visitors I could identify shared feelings towards the set, in the style of orgasmic connection that would not arise by the use of substances but purely through the quality of sound. A few days later I saw that it changed my whole perspective on the concepts of short excitement periods that can occur in a high quality dj set, especially facilitated by transitions that give a little taste of the next sequence and intensifying the positive anticipation for the future moment. 

[sfhubert]

A track which has continuous rhythm build buy an progressively changing glitch sequence. 

[sfhubert]

Two of the labels that have been following me throughout 2017 have been Northern Electronics and Posh Isolation. NE was established by Stockholm based artist Abdulla Rashim, who is a coryphaeus in deep, floating and textural Techno music.  When I was new to the genre of techno and had limited focus towards sounds - rich in detail, I was not too enthusiastic to hear Rashim at my local Club, but I was seventeen and all I wanted were destructive sounds. Needless to say, things would change for me after his performance and it created one memorable gateway towards a type of sound which felt like it was produced out of one entity. It was this type of set, which had minimal but significant development over the course of two hours and had to be carefully listened to from the beginning. The releases Scandinavian Swords II + III have a premium spot in my selection of sounds and this is due to its characters which reach from avant-garde over classical to post-punk-infused Techno. Every track seems to aim at one particular quality of auditory pleasure such as hypnosis, repetition or an exceptional creation of environments inside the lower frequency range. The second Label that occupied my mind is Posh Isolation -run by Loke Rahbek who also released an outstanding solo album called City of Woman this year. Rahbek’s background of artistic practice is fine art on the one hand and alternative-synth music in a band. His releases as a solo artist with numerous releases cover noise music (Damien Dubrovnik) and Dark Synth/Experimental (Croatian Amor). The release of the album Finding People, stunned me with its capability of drawing an audio-visual picture. Most surprising in the level of emotionality and contemporary presence whilst incorporating very traditional instruments such as organs. When Posh Isolation was voted Resident Advisor Label of the month I felt like there was an acceptance of emotionality that does not equal kitsch or has to be represented inside repetitive beat to function more appealing, it was a debut that confirmed the importance of development inside numerous musical directions.

[sfhubert]

Ocularcentric Society

A while ago I watched a talk that was held by Haroon Mirza at AA School of Architecture. In his presentation, he gives insight into the influences that shaped him as an artist and his points of focus. The Ocularcentrism of western civilisation is what identifies as his latest discovery, and this gave me impulses to thinking about the potential impacts it has on the practice of sound art. To exemplify the preference of visual sources above audibles, first confessions can be found in ancient philosophy. In his work Phantasia, Aristotle identifies images to be the central part of his comprehension and declares vision to be most of all perception. Moreover is the development of western philosophy based on visual Metaphors as K.Rukavina explains in her research journal. On the other hand is the role of sound in non-western cultures and languages of a different nature. In Mandarin, it is essential to master the right tone for the pronunciation of a word and furthermore to find a word inside dictionaries. Most of the sinographs (characters of Chinese language) are constructed of one phonetic element that has an unrelated meaning to the word. Returning to Sound Art Practise, I am of the opinion that preferences of western civilisation can be hugely reflected amongst the most popular sound artists. In present time I feel there is an enormous preference towards practitioners such as Ryoji Ikeda- who merely works with sound and image and transforms image data into signals. Another artist that enjoys great popularity is Carsten Nicolai, who is merely working with a combination of image, glitch sound or installation. Nicolai identifies his inspirations to be located in nature and amongst the visualisation of sounds that are located outside of the perceptive spectrum in humans. Even artists that are more sound than multidisciplinary such as Florian Hecker, make use of the white cube in a visually stimulative way. On the other hand are artists such as Trevor Wishart, whose work is based on composition and especially the human voice. Although he is of greater popularity in the circles of sound art practitioners and composers, rather infrequently he appears in the mainstream art world of the west and less likely he would be recognised by the casual gallery visitor. One could argue that there is no image needed inside the relationship of sound and visitor and I would fully agree with this viewpoint, especially concerning works of Chris Watson which are brought to life by drawing a sonic picture. But more than that I would like to see this in a popular white cube environment - for visitors to experience the power of sonic perception.

[sfhubert]

When I watched Pi around two years ago, I had just started my course in sound art & design and found myself in a state of being aware of my passion, while simultaneously having the unawareness of a 19year old. I must also admit that choosing a movie and watching it with full awareness, is not one of my usual activities. Nevertheless did a major part change with watching this movie, which kept myself in a constant state of agitation while bringing awareness to the power of an outstanding movie score and music supervision.

[sfhubert]

P.1   Thoughts towards to our Gallery Visit    -     Everything at once (Store Studios)

The Major Group exhibition coined “Everything at Once” can be currently visited at the Store Studios and originates from a collaboration between Lisson Gallery and The Vinyl Factory. Taking the aesthetical agenda of Lisson Gallery into account while walking through the exhibition space and being simultaneously confronted with the inclusion of several practicing sound artists, gave almost the impression that this subjectivity has arrived in the conventional art world. On a deeper level of consideration, I recalled exhibitions that I previously saw at Lisson and remember the feeling of a musical relationship between the artists and their work on several occasions. Demonstrating this issue, I would like to mention the work of Jorinde Voigt, whose technique has been influenced by her musical engagement with the cello.

In the moment of viewing her artwork, The absence of sound becomes an inconspicuous shade in her compositions, while synchronously conveying every dynamic collection of kinetic objects. The complexity of her artwork reminds me of compositional systems that are deriving from conventional classical music. Moreover, it leaves the viewer with an introspective towards her own sense of processing sound. Another artist of Lisson Gallery, whose work has been profoundly influenced by music although differing in perspective from the previous one is Channa Horwitz. One of her leading intentions was to consolidate colour, movement, sound and light as noted by Another Mag. The difference in perspective of her work is the encouragement of artist to perform her visual representations. Her minimalist approach towards creating thought-provoking entities which hold the possibility to be re-existing in performances or sound arrangements, lie as another representative in the alphabet of fine art that articulates sound.

                    Channa Horwitz -  Eight Part Fugue, 1981

      Konstellation 4 Horizonte I-II, Jorinde Voigt

[sfhubert]

Voyage of duration - The Drone

Maybe there’s something about the drone as a deathlike sound that haunts our consciousness in a certain way - Marcus Boon

Recalling my first auditory experience of hearing a drone playing as part of a presentation by Ansuman Biswas. I felt like I was in a state of trance and my mind was voluntarily pßractising a type of meditation. Before this day, I was in a way aware of the effects a drone could have, but only ever by words - out of the books that came along my way.  If one looks up the word “drone“ in the Oxford dictionary - you will find definitions that describe drones with “making a continuous low sound” - but in fact, there is more complexity behind the subject than presented in this definition. In David Rutledge's article on the brief history of drone music, I learn that the appreciation of deep humming sounds could have something in common with pre-existing in a womb before birth and thereby being exposed to a humming sound. This would also explain the relaxing and organic connection you could feel when hearing a drone. When writing about this type of sound - one should not forget to mention La Monte Young, a pioneer in incorporating the drones inside the subject of western contemporary music. His first drone piece named “The tortoise, his dreams and journeys” was inspired by the motor that operated the aquarium his turtle lived in and simultaneously created a low and humming noise. Following his piece was a career devoted to drone music that exists until today and is still accessible in places such as the Dreamhouse. Located at Church Street Manhattan, it was curated by Young himself, together with his wife Marian Zazeela and is an invitation to get lost in the duration of drones - combined with light.

[sfhubert]

Lawrence Abu Hamdan - Sound in Forensic Architecture

Lawrence Abu Hamdan was born in 1985 in Amman - the capital of Jordan. The mediums he incorporates into his practice are audiovisual installations, tape compositions, graphic scores - to name a few. I first came across his work, during an exhibition of Forensic Architecture at the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Barcelona. Subject matter for this installation was the case of two Palestine Teenagers Nadeem Nawara and Mohammad Mahmoud who here victims of a fatal shooting conducted by Israelian Military after a peaceful protest in solidarity with prisoners against the detention of Israeli Government. The atmosphere of the protest turned into a turmoil, after the Israeli military used live fire weapons and later on concluded with the killing of the two teenagers. Significant about this case is that the unlawful and fatal material of the bullet was able to be identified with the help of Goldsmiths based Forensic Architecture team, that analyzed the sonic fingerprint of CCTV footage. After The sonic footage was compared to the previous non-fatal shots, fired by the military during the demonstration, it was evident that metal bullets had been used, even though the Israeli military claimed that no live ammunition was involved. Eyal Weizman explains in his book about the practice of Forensic Architecture:

“Forensic Architecture refers to the work of expert witnesses who present structural analysis in a legal context. Their practice combines the principles of property surveying, structural engineering, the physics of blast forces, and the chemistry of composite materials. In that sense, Forensic Architecture is the archaeology of the very recent past, but it must also be a form of assembling for the future.”

In the case of the fatal shooting, it became a tool for assembling the future of attention towards the unlawful killings of the Israeli military that have been conducted since the early 2000s. Although the forensic analysis did not lead to any detentions on the side of the military, it certainly increased global attention on the actions of Israeli Military in Gaza and gained awareness from the side of human rights organizations.

http://www.dci-palestine.org/faq_about_the_nakba_day_killings http://stories.dci-palestine.org/beitunia-boys/#12 https://www.channel4.com/news/israel-accused-unlawful-killing-teenagers-shot-video-nadeem-nawara-muhammad-salameh-beitunia Eyal Weizman - Forensic Architecture: Notes from Fields and Forums (2011). Publisher: Hatje Cantz


http://lawrenceabuhamdan.com/new-page-1/