Project 2:
Time and Time Based Media
Exercise 1: The Fourth Dimension
Thinking about time and how it is related when we interpret art is not something I have learnt about in depth. As a hobbyist/beginner to studying art, I have often found interpreting art to be somewhat overwhelming and so these subjects I often overlook, but when breaking it down into relevant themes such as time and place, I start to be able to make more sense of what I observe in a piece. I do consider time when I look at art but probably more than I initially realised, and not in so much detail. For example I judge a piece based on what time period I assume it is from and what the beliefs and perceptions of that time were, appreciating the historical elements to it.
When I think of artworks that I may have come across before in relation to time, my mind is instantly reminded of Salvidor Dali’s ‘the persistence of memory’ and the iconic ‘melting clock’. I have not studied this painting but the memorable and commercialised image of the clock is embedded in my mental imagery. Having visited museums such as the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, I have explored numerous paintings from classical time periods but have not had the artistic knowledge to consider their relation to their time.
I am curious about using this theme to develop my understanding of art and as a subject matter in itself.
Case Study: Interpreting Sound - Longplayer
This case study asks you to consider your first response to the piece, its medium and form, and its context.
Longplayer is often described as a 1,000-year long musical composition.
In a few words, what is your initial reaction to the idea of this piece?
What do you think about the sounds in the piece?
Upon reading about Longplayer, I am in awe of the piece. The concept is incredible and mechanically mindblowing, even today. This was an idea that came to fruition in 1999 - 21 years ago, and in that time the world has seen uncountable changes, and I was met with thoughts of what the next 979 years could bring, how the world will be, will the human race even exist?
I am completing this exercise during a global pandemic of Covid-19 which also prompted me to contemplate Longplayer and how it is continuing through these current events. I admire the true ambition of Jem Finer for his fearless drive to continue the piece long into the future. The future itself is a daunting prospect, but when I consider the possibility of humans celebrating the success of the piece’s thousand year composition I found an immense feeling of wonder and hope.
The music of the piece itself, I initially found to be a little dull and ironically, repetitive. Though as I continued to listen, I began to understand the peaceful tones and found the gentle ringing to be calm, enchanting and soothing.
Site-specific: in terms of art this means a piece that is created solely for the site it is to exist in.
My notes on the performance:
• the quality of the sound used
The performance of Longplayer Live would have been incredible to have been there. But luckily we have videos to observe and preserve the original performance in a recording. The sound in the videos is hard to appreciate because for me it is a very long, continuous piece that doesn’t ebb and flow as music would. I am aware that this is not intended as music, but as a representation of unique combinations of sound through time.
The sounds made are long, vibrational and continuous tones that range in pitch at random and are composed in a melodic manner. It's at times very gentle, and then interrupted by louder higher or sometimes lower pitched ringing. The ringing notes are harmonious with one another.
• the choice of singing bowls
The choice of singing bowls is interesting because they are an ancient instrument, used typically for sounds to practice ancient arts to, such as meditation and yoga. They are symbolic of religion and culture, as well as other-worldly and spiritual. they are of primitive design, relying on the simple technique of creating vibration in the space of the bowl which then creates sound. I believe that the choice to use these is because of their simplicity and their reliability to survive for a further thousand or so years. They carry with them the ancient history of our ancestors, and will carry this piece down to our descendants.
The instruments themselves are unpredictable and unique with every note, adding to the continued unrepeated composition.
• the positioning of the bowls
Each circle carries various sizes of the singing bowls, and the inner circles holding tables of more instruments similar to the bowls. The circles are representative to the patterns of the planets in our solar system to continue with the subject of ‘time’, and how we measure all of the planet’s days, months and years in accordance with the solar calendar. I think the positioning of the bowls is representative of the planets and their orbits around our sun, each planet with its own time span that we measure in earth years. The bowls in their various sizes also offer an aesthetic to the viewers, whether present at the performance or watching from the recording.
• the positioning of the spectator
The spectators in the piece are outside of the 6 concentric circles and can observe from the outside, peacefully in silence and take in the sounds from around the room in a meditative manner. They can absorb the sounds from anywhere in the room, another random and unique aspect to the performance.
• the time length of the piece
Described as 6 records playing a different section of music in unique combinations, so to not repeat any combination of sections played until 1000 years has passed.
The significance of it being a thousand minutes is to echo the original longplayer being designed to last 1000 years. But whereas a thousand minutes is a mere 16.6 hours, less than 1 day on the planet earth, a 1000 years is, in modern times, 10 or more human lifetimes. I believe the 1000 minutes is for us to contemplate the significance of time measurement and how such a short time of 1000 minutes compares to the seemingly infinite stretch of a 1000 years, yet both are measured in their 1000’s.
• how the piece is performed.
There are 2 collaborating musicians beside each of the tables, playing the instruments in shifts with other musicians. Each of the 6 tables represents a section of the sounds to be played as though it were cut out from the ‘loop’.
The piece is performed methodically and almost mathematically, as dictated by a computer written system, although seemingly random. The musicians work in pairs and take it in turns to play and conduct. The composition is written on each of the curved tables for that performance only.
Again, it appears that everyone remains silent apart from the musicians when they play the instruments.
My interpretation of Longplayer
Longplayer is a concept that explores our perception of time on multiple levels, originally thought up by Jim Finer and developed with collaborators into what is now ‘the longplayer trust,’ a charity organisation. It's a cleverly designed performance piece that is engineered by a computer based system. It’s both a 1000 year long recording still in progress, and live performances for example the 2009 performance that lasted 1000 minutes at the Roundhouse in London.
I personally am mesmerized by the concept and the complexity of it, having no knowledge of the intellectual computing systems. The idea itself is distinctive and courageous because of the determination to protect the piece long into the future, and create something truly transgenerational.
Longplayer’s origins lay within Jim Finer’s perception of time, but the evolution resulted in a diverse multi-dimensional concept for it’s audience. For me, brings an immense fascination because of its ability to be completely unrepeated throughout any of its performances, and how that is representative of every moment in time being unique since time began.
There are multiple elements to the piece that take spectators through more composite ideas of time, such as space and how civilizations have learnt to measure time using cosmology and astrology. How we think about the future and within that, how we consider future generations. The choice of using primitive and spiritual instruments such as the singing bowls is also a significant part in the performance, due to their history, survival throughout the years and their uncontrollable pitches and tones through vibration. The unpredictability of their notes also adds to Longplayer’s theme of being completely non repetitive.
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