Part 1 Project 2 Exercise 2 Developing Research Skills

Exercise 2: Developing your research skills

Vatnajökull (the sound of) 2007–08

Katie Paterson

In terms of media, I would define this piece as an expression of interactive modern art. A site specific piece with the use of sound equipment and modern technology expanded with photography and a neon display.

Notes

• This piece worked by calling the phone number to listen to the live sounds of the icelandic glacier, Vatnajökull, melting.
• Echoes the artist's other works by using sound and a sense of ‘transportation’ when the listener is taken to another location.
• Her other work explores the dynamics of space and time, and viewer participation. 
• The glacier itself is the second largest in Europe, and has been used in filming. 
• The location was also known for a plane crash in 1950, luckily all 6 crew members survived and were rescued after sending a distress signal. It is possible that this could have inspired the piece?
• The  glacier is a site of natural phenomenon, formed over volcanoes that when they erupted cause pockets under the ice and subglacial floods. By installing sound equipment, the listener could be hearing this take place.
• The melting glacier could also be symbolic of today’s imminent struggles with climate change and global warming. 
• The piece also includes the neon phone number for the connection to the glacier and the stunning photography of the location.
• Kate Paterson created a collection of written words in a series called ‘Ideas’ and a book. Each work is a short description of a place that could exist anywhere on earth, in the universe but primarily in the viewer's imagination. 
• The texts are poetic and almost like prompts for a writer or an artist.