This week we visited London, I took some recordings in the white cube gallery space and reflected on some things that I had not considered before. The speaker I had ordered arrived and I began to experiment with it.
The Warburg Institute:
First stop on our visit to London was the Warburg Institute, a fascinating collection of books, where 800 year old books could be placed next to contemporary ones just as easy to access. There were some incredible books we found and looked through such as a collection of Albrecht Durer prints.
In the stairwell between the floors, there was a large painting placed on painted white walls. I thought it a good example to show how this work does not feel 'displaced' despite the matte white walls.
the work is situated next to two windows that light the work evenly and do not attempt to board up the world outside to view the work under harsher artificial lights ( as you can see, the light above the painting is turned off. - It is worth noting that this space does not attempt to be a white cube, however the iconic aestehetic is echoed in the white walls.
The painting was comissioned specifically for this site, it is a study of another painting, and it is here exhibited in the specific site, which is a place of studying no less, and one that holds high significance on the image as an object of research. - The painting is exactly where it was intended to be, and through this sparks a connection between the space and the painting.
It is exhibited not in the main rooms, but in the stairway, a location usually reserved to be liminal and transitionary. If my memory doesn't fail me I believe it was between the levels of image and action, making it only more fitting that the image is aprrectiated through the action of walking up stairs. ( also the stairs allow for the work to be viewed from different levels, allowing for a more dynamic appreciation of the work, explicitly allowing a more active audience.
I will also note that despite the 'place' of this artwork's belonging has white walls, I believe it will still feel out of place within a white cube gallery, as it is the ideologies of the institution that causes works and audiences to feel displaced rather than the qualities of the physical space.
The White cube:
We visited a white cube gallery as the second stop on our London visit. Here are some notes from the visit:
- We became immediately aware of the acoustics of the site as I was there to experience and hopefully record the sounds already present in the white cube space. with the carpet less floors, the windows boarded up and hard walls ( also usually hard cubist furniture) the room becomes a chamber of echoes and it is this acoustic environment that forces self awareness of the noise that we make as a visitor.
- The floors of this white cube space, were a shade darker than the walls as is common, but they were in this case a polished concrete, which complimented the minimalist aesthetic, but also granted the space a spectral image of the double in the reflections of its high gloss finish. This reflective quality associates the space with the reflective echoes of the acoustics as well as the haunting image of the double as per Freud's theory of the Uncanny.
While this repetition brings attention to the quality of sameness, in this case we highlighting the inescapability of the gaze from the white walls. it haunts through the aspects of difference.
It evokes the spectre of Nostalgia as an uncanny entity which reveals the emphasised qualities of similarity between two objects or events. The floors reveal a repeat aesthetic, reflecting an image of the space, with yourself within it.
These reflections were not clear however, and their difference gave them a spectral presence which supported the feeling of the space as haunted.
- Speaking on reflections, the presentation of the photographic prints were not at all suited to experience the images. They were all placed behind large 'protective' screens of glass (in my opinion unnecessary precautions, especially as the works are photographs and therefore are inherently reproducible copies), these screens became immensely reflective especially in the bright artificial lighting of the white cube space, such that they became almost mirror-like.
This could have been a purposeful and successful concept of bringing the audience into the image of the work, however this was not noted by the artist in the hand out they gave out at the event, so it is reasonable to assume that this was not an intended aspect of the work, and that as such, the bodies of the audience are not welcomed to be integrated within the work but become obfuscating entities.
Further evidence to this, was that this mirrorlikek effect would only take place on the areas of black in the photograph as other works that were brighter only reflected in their darkest regions.
I will also comment that it is not just the bodies of the spectators that haunt in reflection, but the lights of the space especially and the architecture of the room are reflected also.
- I took several long recordings in the space, so that I would have lots of sound samples to work with. I became aware of how these sounds were produced in this process larger groups of people created more sounds, but also the types of sounds depended on the clothing and items that the spectators brought in with them, a walking cane and harder soled shoes made much louder sounds than softer trainers etc. These types of sounds could be said to belong to different types of people. For example, hard soled shoes could be associated with a higher class, which invites the conversation of the soundscape into one of who is it that attends art galleries etc.
- Another unexpected element, was that the screen protector over my phone camera cracked at some point during the trip and these ghostly refractions haunted my documentation of the event as lights would appear twice There is no larger point that can be made from this, but it was certainly an interesting conundrum within the space, as the many lights made me become aware of my faculties of documentation, and for a moment made me think the space really was haunted as causing issues with cameras ( and mirrors) is a common trope in haunting stories and myth.
Parametric speaker
The speaker I ordered from Japan has now arrived early and works!
I have now ordered a more powerful charging cable as it requires a bit more power, however even though it is quiet, it shows that the technology does in fact work and therefore my research with it may benefit sound experience within the white cube.
Once the power cable arrives on Monday I will be able to see if it is loud enough to work alongside the other speakers I have, or whether they should be exhibited separately or in succession in a performance setting.
One thing I found from experimenting with the device is that it has a certain materiality to it, or at least the directional beam does, and can be manipulated in a tactile manner which is especially noticeable when playing a constant tone. (I found my composition 'Eternal Misery Mosquito' to be very useful for this.
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