Sonic Acts Academy 2018
Unpacking the Processes of Artistic Knowledge
The blending of art, technology, music, and science
The Sonic Acts academy established in 1994 holds a festival each year focusing on how the developments of the world have affected the intertwining of art, technology, music, and science. This year’s event is held in numerous locations across Amsterdam.
One of the main locations being Dansmakers in Amsterdam Noord, this renovated factory on the IJ provides the perfect space for ideas and inspiration to flow. The world around us is constantly changing and even though this allows us to gather and share more information than ever it is essential that we as humans do not go overboard and we must filter out what is needed and what is not needed.
One of the main aspects of Sonic Acts is the idea to learn outside of the classroom, forget the pressures of society and experiment by combining artistic practice and theory.
The event took place over the course of three days including light exhibitions and workshops. On a sunny February morning, I took a trip across the IJ to educate myself on such a unique set of topics. The symposium was to dive into the possibility of alternative perspectives. Even though I have been in the creative world of Amsterdam for many months I had never come across the Sonic Arts Academy, so I was rather intrigued and excited to experience this broad-minded event.
I attended a presentation by sound artist Christina Kubisch. Christina Kubisch a German artist is known for turning sound into art. Before creating masterpieces with sound, she studied the Flute and Piano. As a strong feminist one of the reasons I went to see her presentation is that she is one of the most unique female composers in the world, she herself stated she was frustrated at the lack of female composers.
One of the unique aspects of her work is that she doesn’t like being on stage, she wants the public to control the performance — this idea makes her stand out from other artists.
Her work is based on the acoustic world that cannot be heard. Her installations delve into the scientific world of sound waves and signals and their social and political effects. In a lot of her projects, she has used cables as part of her visual art. This discussion was based on one of her latest pieces called ‘Electrical Walks’. This project is a series of ‘sound walks’ which she has developed. The idea being the public wear headphones that capture electromagnetic signals from the environment around them and transfer these signals into noises and sounds. She has created 66 of these walks worldwide. The famous sound walks are a unique way to represent a city, each walk represents a musical composition — she also creates maps to guide people around the city. These maps can also indicate whether the city is old or modern.
When Christina is creating these sound walks she walks around the city with headphones capturing different frequencies and noises. One thing she mentioned which really interested me is how the different technology in each city creates different noises, for example, the train stations in France and Germany create different noises due to the different electrical systems which they use. Also, in many Asian countries, they have large LED screens used for advertising which as you walk past create a fascinating sound effect. The different lights used in various cities also produce interesting results. One of the main ideas that I found about Christina’s work is how she finds beautiful noises in all aspects of life.
One project which she mentioned in her presentation is a project called ‘Bird Tree’ this is an exhibition consisting of a group of cables attached together to form the sculpture of a tree, each branch echoes a different bird call. As the user walks throughout the bird tree the noises blend together. She wanted the public to ask questions, to step forward and be interested. With Christina’s projects, the users are free to walk through the exhibition in their own way as everyone will have different experiences.
I also attended a talk by composer Jennifer Walshe specializing in extended techniques. Her work has been performed in festivals and by ensembles all over the world. Her main feature is the ‘Historical Documents of the Irish Avant-Garde’ this project involved numerous collaborators and enters the world of how fake news changes our ideas of the world around us. This project is about inventing 187 years of history in Ireland using music. Growing up in Ireland she was bought up with the idea of noise, sound, and surveillance, to her sound is not just something to enjoy but can also be represented in a political way. As a young child, she was interested in science fiction, magazines, and superheroes but there was very little choice in Ireland, so this inspired her to create alter egos for her music and invent an Irish science fiction past. Her presentation was humorous and not like anything I had heard before.
‘Sensing the Place’ is a student research project which was also part of the Sonic Acts Academy, this project was about the outcomes of the different human senses in a controlled experimental environment. This environment was based in a location around the corner from Dan makers — an old shipyard which echoes the edgy atmosphere which is Amsterdam Noord. The artist Cocky Eek and several tutors created this exhibition to enhance how people would react.
The idea behind the project is that you do not move around the space, but the space moves you.
The tutors Cocky Eek and Renske Maria van Dam travelled around Amsterdam looking for a suitable location for this project. Urban environments are very common in Amsterdam and the tutors were looking for a unique habitat — one which they were not used to which they could work in. Amsterdam is such a bustling city.
The students spent days exploring this environment and discovering the different sounds and vibrations that made up the shipyard. They also got to interview the workers who work on the ships. The students used different types of equipment as well as their own ears to feel and record these noises. The students were then briefed to create a map of the shipyard without using images or videos. The results of these maps were intriguing, and each student developed a completely different result.
Overall the Sonic Acts Academy has been a mind opening experience I have delved into topics I didn’t particularly understand and have engaged in subjects I have never heard of before.
As a student designer in the 21st Century I have always relied on my computer and other technology to guide me through a project but visiting the Sonic Acts Academy has allowed me to broaden my horizon and look at other topics such as science and music. Sometimes stepping away from your computer and taking in the outside world can give you more inspiration and open your eyes.
The Sonic Acts Academy takes place once a year in exhibition centers’ around Amsterdam, check it out for yourself at sonicacts.com.
If you enjoyed this story, please clap👏 and share to help others find it! Feel free to leave a comment below.
Follow VBAT: Instagram | Facebook |Linkedin |Twitter
written by Hayley Duszynski, Creative Intern at VBAT
edited by Connie Fluhme, PR at VBAT
