Object lesson: can

 On today's classes we had to select a random subject. The Object i picked was Jean Paul Gaultier "Le Male" perfume can. I chose the object owing to two different reasons:

1- The sound. When I saw the can, I went straight away to it, it was one of the few objects available that I knew would have a interesting sound. I intend to record sounds made with the can and come up with a concrete piece of music.

2- It reminded me Andy Warhol's Campbell Soup can. I intend to create a photography/ concrete music parody called this is not a Campbell Soup can, referring to the Warhol's work. 

Campbell's soup can 

The idea of photography I have in my mind is inspired in others work of Andy Warhol. It  will be nine different pictures of the can with slightly tones and colors variation. However, instead of vibrant colors I will use only  black and white, to create a contrast with the original piece. I intend to use the final visual art as a cover of mine music. When it comes to the music I will write a concrete piece, recording the different sounds i can produce with the can and modifying then in the post production using both softwares and plugins in digital audio work station such as pro tools. 

  "Musique concrète is often described through the story of its invention: a musician experimenting with recorded sounds in a radio studio constructs senseless structures, with a radiophonic background, and at some point he considers this music; he then gives it a name and creates a group to work on and experiment with his discovery. The important factor is that he may use any kind of sound from any origin and, through sound modifications and sound superposition, he blends them together in a musical structure (which is actually not very different from cinema production methodology). He then attracts composers to work on his ideas and in the studio; the first and one of the most productive and original is Pierre Henry, then many others come to the studio to test musique concrète and experiment with its possibilities"(Teruggi, 2015).

  In one article in 1957 Schaeffer, one of the pioniers of concrete music described  the rules and tge conventions of the new genre:

 "First postulate: Primacy of the ear. – The potential for development, along with the boundaries of any new music, depends on the capacity of our hearing.

Second postulate: Given the first assumption, a preference for real acoustic sources for which our ear has been long conditioned (especially refusal of an exclusive use of electronic sources).

Third postulate: Search of a language. – New musical structures must tend to ensure communication between the person who constructs and the one who perceives.These three principles apply to any attempt to renew the musical domain, and are in no way conditioned by any technical background.

Five rules also draw practical conclusions regarding musique concrète: 

First rule. – Learn a new Solfeggio by systematic listening to sound-objects of any kind. The only needed capacity here is to know how to listen, although rudiments of technique (acoustic and electronic) are naturally likely to facilitate learning.

Second rule. – Create sound-objects: that is to say, practices the actual realisation of diverse and original as possible sounds, as opposed to the traditional act of writing on staved paper writings that correspond to abstract sign configurations.

Third rule. – Model musical-objects: that is to say, learn to use ‘devices to manipulate the sounds’ (not to be confused with musical instruments): tape recorders, microphones, filters, etc.

Fourth rule. – Before conceiving works, carry out studies; similar to the ‘school exercises’ of traditional music, they will force the beginner to choose among the variety of available resources and possible implementations.

Fifth rule. – Work and time, indispensable to any real assimilation."(Schaeffer Reference Schaeffer1967: 16, 29)

 For this project, I do not intend to follow the ideas and conventions set by Schaeffer. Within time the concrete music has massively developed, and new artist redefine the genre,breaking convention and creating new sounds. My main inspirations for this project are artists such as Alex Buck, Jonty Harrison and David Berezan. 

A Revolta dos Xapiris- Alex Buck

Reference:

Licht, Alan. Sound Art Revisited. Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 22 Aug. 2019.

Teruggi, Daniel. “Musique Concrète Today: Its Reach, Evolution of Concepts and Role in Musical Thought.” Organised Sound, vol. 20, no. 1, 5 Mar. 2015, pp. 51–59, https://doi.org/10.1017/s1355771814000429.

Schaeffer, Pierre, et al. In Search of a Concrete Music. Berkely, University Of California Press, 2013.