Trisha Laya: how did you start making your works? and what medium did you first use?
Susan Hawkins: I started writing music at the age of 15, and went straight to university to complete a Bachelorâs degree in Composition on leaving high school. I had studied classical piano from the (relatively) late age of 13, but was always more interested in expressing myself through sound than ever attempting to become a classical pianist or play in jazz bands. Of course, I did also spend a lot of time playing in bands, and wanted to really try out as many parts of the music industry as possible. A lot of my early composition was for solo piano, and strings. I started experimenting with music software like ProTools and got really excited by the way the technology could open up the possibilities for sound, and creating an experience for a listener. I think over the years my work became more sound and texturally focussed than actually about writing scores for ensembles. It was cheaper, easier, and I could produce a lot more work with the technology available.
TL: how do you generate your ideas? and how do you translate this to sound?
SH: I take a lot of inspiration from visual media â and usually my music is written specifically for a visually-based projects .Ideas will come from a variety of places â either from the visual material itself or the visual artist has specific ideas, or maybe I have been playing around with particular textures or harmonies that I think will really fit with the image. I donât really have a method of generating ideas that stays consistent for each piece â each project is different in content, in collaborators and process.
Translating ideas in to sound is easy if your ideas are sounds. If the ideas are more conceptual, I will try to explore the best way to represent or express the ideas using whatever techniques are possible.
TL: are there any 'special processes' that you use to make your artworks?
SH: I have really focused on combining traditional or organic instruments with electronic processes as an attempt to make something new that is still accessible by a general listening public. For example, a lot of my works will use samples for cello or clarinet that I have written and recorded, then will digitally manipulate them to create new textures, harmonies and melodies.
TL: when and how did you start making experimental music and exhibiting them?
SH: I really started making installations only when I began working with my friend Olivia Pisani, and we started showing works together under the name âimaginationandmymotherâ â we started working together in 2005. We were both living in London at the time, and we started doing performance installations within the experimental sound community there. Contacts then led to more installations, and I then went to the USA and Canada to make some installations with artists there.
TL: how and where do you get inspirations from?
SH: Good question for any artist, I think â and a hard one to answer!! I think that I get inspired and encourage by hearing and seeing other amazing works. Even less-than-amazing works can inspire, because I get determined to make something beautiful. Like most artists, I have a day job that isnât related to the arts, so I tend to search out art that I find beautiful as soon as I leave the office! I listen to a lot of music, in very different styles, watch a lot of films from all over the world, and try to get to as many performances as possible to feed my need for inspiration.
TL: did you knew that you were going to do this kind of art before? is what you are doing everything that you have imagined?
SH: I had no idea Iâd be making the kind of things I have! When I started writing music I thought I would be writing orchestral symphonies and making film music. I guess the joy in that is that I have experienced so many amazing collaborations with such amazing artists, and made work I could not have predicted.
TL: how can you differentiate sound from music?
SH: Thatâs actually also a difficult question. Part of me says there is no difference â in the John Cage way of thinking, of course. Everything is music, everything is sound. I think really the difference is about purposeful intervention in sound, which (may or may not) make music as a result. I struggle with music or sound that is made purely as an intellectual exercise â for me it really has to try and connect with a listener on some emotional level. In a way, it is like asking what the difference is between speech and poetry â where is the intention? Is there a craft involved in shaping an experience?
TL: how do you know if you have the right material? the right sound to produce, and the right concept even? how do you know if it's the 'right one'?
SH: The only real test is whether I am moved by what I have created â this can give a false impression that the concept is right, but usually itâs a good indicator that maybe other people will connect with it too J If it is a collaborative project, that can change whether the right material is right for me, or for the other artists, or for what we are trying to achieve.
TL: is making sound more difficult than making paintings? maybe in terms of concept, or process?
SH: I canât really answer because I canât paint! I think it might be just as difficult â any real creative output like painting, or sculpture making or video making or sound, involves some kind of link between the creative process and the actual thing that you produce.
TL: i love your "we are not alone" works! can you tell something more about it?
"We Are Not Alone"
(for more details about the "We Are Not Alone" project, click HERE) - I think this specific project of hers is not on her folio anymore, but link still gets you to her site.
SH: I had two works in the We Are Not Alone exhibition â âbuddhaâs lightbulb and âmusic of the spheresâ. Music of the spheres is the installation with Wesley Mulvin, where I made 16 tracks representing sixteen constellations. Wesley crafted the âlistening conesâ (that you see on the front page of my website) for the constellations to play in. Part of the idea was to have sound spilling over in to the space of the gallery â you could hear quite clearly the separate constellations when you sat under the cones, and when you were outside, there was a lovely spilling over of sound in to the rest of the space. âbuddhaâs lightbulbâ was another experiment in using sound to fill a space â it was a 30 minute prepared piano piece that was looped, and speakers were placed coming up the stairs as you entered the gallery. I was playing with the idea of accompanying or enticing people up the stairs, and then allowing a spill of energy in to the space (by which time they could also hear the âmusic of the spheresâ spilling from the listening cones. It was a wonderful experience being in Canada working with the artists in the exhibition â it was very collaborative, and all of the artists involved made such dramatically different, but complementary work.
TL: what kind of music do you listen to? what's your favorite?
SH: I listen to loads of different things â from Fardu (Portuguese folk music) to Ethiopian jazz to Bjork and Radiohead to Mahler, Schumman to Arvo Part, Steve Reich, John Adams, Brian Eno to John Coltrane and Miles Davis.
At the moment Iâm enjoying listening to Lee Morgan (jazz) and Morton Feldman.
TL: how do you get people to see sound art like something of those of the usual exhibitions? i mean because the usual exhibits are paintings, etc.
SH: I think the key is how to make it accessible to a general audience. People who go to see an exhibition of paintings know what to expect in some way â thereâs a history of how the art is communicated to the viewer. With sound, itâs a bit different, and thereâs less of a history in one way. Youâve got to count on peopleâs curiosity in some ways, but also thinking about where the installation is and how and where it is marketed. You need to know what kind of audience youâre looking for.
TL: how do you usually set up your exhibitions and installations?
SH: Usually itâs just me, with the most low-cost sound solution possible. Especially doing installations in different countries, itâs not so easy to carry (or buy) a lot of technology, so usually Iâll try to make something with the least amount possible.
TL: do you have a certain number of works in an exhibition?
SH: No, it really depends on the project, who else is involved, what the budget is, how big the space is, etc.
TL: what can you advice to artists that would want to pursue making art through sound/music?
SH: Thatâs a difficult question too! I think, be as flexible as possible and try out lots of different ways of working. Look for opportunities to collaborate with other artists and be part of a community, because sound and music is the thing that keeps humans together!
