In my week 26 lecture with Kate Carr, she was showing us some examples of artist performance models in different contexts, one of these examples was Pamela Z’s ‘Breathing’. I was not previously aware of Pamela Z’s work, however when shown this video I found an instant attraction, mostly toward her techniques of working with controllers to manipulate the sound through physical movements. This is something I would like to explore and work with, and I feel it leads on well from the work I have been doing with code.
“Pamela Z (b 1956) is a composer/performer and media artist working with voice, live electronic processing, sampled sound, and video. A pioneer of live digital looping techniques, she processes her voice in real time to create dense, complex sonic layers. Her solo works combine experimental extended vocal techniques, operatic bel canto, found objects, text, and sampled concrète sounds. She uses MAX MSP and Isadora software on a MacBook Pro along with custom MIDI controllers that allow her to manipulate sound and image with physical gestures.”
The use of voice in Pamela’s work is prominent, the relationship between voice and body is a sophisticated relationship, with the movement of each effecting the other. The audible aspects of her performance are beautifully layered and engage your brain in a fascinating way. Visually, her performance move through the motions of her body, which are commonly controlling the multiple layers of sound. Compared to other performance artists, Pamela’s stages are relatively empty, often times she has the limited entities of; herself, her laptop and the microphone, drawing your focus to the organic, natural elements of her work.
Performance art is something I can be quite picky about, I have seen a lot of sound & visual art practitioners who’s performances don’t intrigue me. I find that in performance there is a kind of stretch to be the most unconventionally ambitious, and often times this takes away from the curiosity and charm that a good performance artist can have. Obviously, this is subjective, and I have seen a large number of performance artists of whom I think are wonderful and inspiring, Pamela Z being one of them.
This physical form of sonic manipulation is an aspect of working with technicalities that I am yet to achieve, simply due to my lack of knowledge. As I am relatively new to working with elements like; electronics, coding, computer software, etc, there is a lot of information and understanding that I have not yet learnt. I am however eager and very willing to learn it, and the opportunities this provokes excites me a lot. I see artists like Pamela Z or Holly Herdon who are working with tech in a very innovative way, and it inspires me to carry on producing work.
The use of controlling sound and visuals through physical gestures is something that ties in heavily with Touch Designer, specifically through mapping and body tracking. As this is something I am very intrigued by, and eager to understand, I feel that my aspirations of where I want my work to go is cohesive with my skills. It is through researching and observing artists and practitioners work that has inspired me to learn software like Touch Designer or RAVE. And although I only have a basic level of knowledge and capabilities, I am eager to continue growing this understanding.