Graham @ Whitney - projector sounds 090820

I visited the Dan Graham show at the Whitney today (finally). It was a really great experience. The pavilions especially are as profound as they are socially engaging.

I took some clandestine audio with the iPhone Voice Memo app in the rooms with 2 classic film projectors projecting simultaneously. I've included them here as a little "displacement" of the ambient audio from both pieces (forgot to document the titles... anyone?):

Room 1 - Eiki projectors

Room 2 - projector type unknown

non-site 001: convolution reverb

From CJM Facebook Wall:

Christopher McIntyre is there a musical analogy to Smithson's "non-site" concept?
August 5 at 1:15am

Michael Berk
Maybe not musical, and maybe not even aesthetic at all, but I think of convolution reverb processes
August 5 at 1:36am

Christopher McIntyre
very nice mB. had to wiki it, but convolution reverb and the impulse response component in particular are spot on. been digging in to smithson, matta-clark, et al. for a project. really inspiring...
August 5 at 1:52am

From Wikipedia:
Convolution reverb
In audio signal processing, convolution reverb is a process for digitally simulating the reverberation of a physical or virtual space. It is based on the mathematical convolution operation, and uses a pre-recorded audio sample of the impulse response of the space being modelled. To apply the reverberation effect, the impulse-response recording is first stored in a digital signal-processing system. This is then convolved with the incoming audio signal to be processed.

Smithson and the land of crystal - 090817

I've been wending my way through a book exploring the work and working method of artist Robert Smithson. Entitled Robert Smithson: Learning from New Jersey and Elsewhere, author Ann Reynolds charts a teleological path through Smithson's abstruse and varied interests. She identifies essays and books he was reading and quoting in his own writing while in process with his art works. His use of aerial maps, mirrors, and of course "earth" as content have larger dimensions than I thought before reading this work. There is a particularly compelling section dealing with Smithson's drive to fully objectivize abstraction in which his interest in "coded environments" informs the non-site concept. It inspired me to work on a composition tentatively called "The Crystal Land", the title of an important eassy he wrote in the late 60's. I'm going to use my own composerly coded environment to generate formal and linguistic content. Smithson's land of crystal is New Jersey, and I'm not really sure I understand what he means yet, but I have picked up a copy of "The Writings of...". I plan to read it while in India. Aptly incongruous for me...