Writing machine
Lullabies
Recently I recorded my partner singing the songs she'd sing to put our children to sleep
I'd first considered this when those kids were much younger and, since they don't need to be sung to sleep, it almost seems redundant to record those lullabies now.
Most nights they wish me goodnight hours before they plan to go to bed!
However, it had been one of those activities on my to-do list, then the Disquiet Junto prompt last week reminded me.
The reason is one that Thomas Edison recognised when he developed the phonograph:
The family record; preserving the sayings, the voices, and the last words of the dying members of the family...
Earlier this year a friend died from Motor Neurone Disease, which was confronting for the speed that it took away her abilities.
After the friend lost her ability to speak, my partner found a recording she'd made of her singing.
It was powerful to hear her voice again and a reminder of the importance of capturing those moments.
Thank you Yanco
The inFrequency tour rumbled through Yanco on Saturday night as a diverse line-up brought their audiovisual performances to town
Griffith's Bernard Gray shared his experience in live-coding at a workshop during the afternoon, then demonstrated the flexibility of this approach with a set that leapt from a jazzy opening into distorted beats before cooling off with a funky break that he seemed to materialise through programming on his keyboard.
See video here!
Dron Skot's techno pummelled the sound system and brought a cheer from the Chinese restaurant next door.
(Thanks Lee and Donny!)
DJ Ruined My Wedding Day walked a fine line between giving the crowd the pop music they thought they knew, then perverting it into breakcore and rave.
Myst Mach's performance began with an audience singalong to 'Promiscuous' by Nelly Furtado, then channeled the spirit of Sophie with a DJ set accompanied with dancing and manipulated video that looked like it came from a fisting video.
The All Services Club provided a warm and friendly venue, as well as being enthusiastic in their support for the event.
Thanks also to our bartender, Dale.
inFREQUENCY tour
The inFREQUENCY tour will bring together electronic musicians from the southeast and southwest for performances and workshops that showcase their different approaches
“Our aim is to create opportunities to share cutting-edge audio-visual art through live shows and workshops that will provide a behind-the-scenes perspective on the techniques being used.”
There will be demonstrations of video projection-mapping and live-coding that provide an introduction to free software in workshops before the performances dazzle and inspire audiences.
Artists Scott Baker and Jason Richardson have two decades of experience in working together, including running projection-mapping workshops at Griffith Pioneer Park Museum in 2016.
Both were part of the Unsound Festivals that ran in Wagga Wagga, which put Australia’s experimental musicians on the world stage.
Baker has developed audio-visual art as Abre Ojos and his new techno persona Dron Skot, while Richardson’s work as Bassling has also gained national and international interest.
“This project began when I was enthusing to Scott how Bernard Gray was developing live-coding performance skills in Griffith with the DECODED workshops” says Jason.
“It brought to mind the skills in music-making and video-editing that I’d learned in Wagga, so we began planning a way to bring together this diverse group of musicians based in regional NSW.”
“Scott identified artists Myst Mach and The DJ Ruined My Wedding Day from the South Coast and we thought it’d be great to create performance opportunities to develop skills for the musicians and the audiences, because you never know where the ideas and experiences can take you.”
Myst Mach is a young producer and DJ from Tathra who pulls together genres far and wide to mould them into a kinetic object in their own dancefloor-focused journeys.
The DJ Ruined My Wedding Day will make you as giddy as a bride on their wedding day and build you up to only take you higher with their DJ set colliding old favourites with the best underground tunes.
Baker and Richardson reflect how the skills they’ve developed came from experiments with technology, performance and exhibition.
“It’s great to get out and perform, but it’s even better to aim to inspire the next generation of regional artists through the workshops we are running,” says Jason.
Tickets are available via https://www.infrequency.au/
The inFREQUENCY tour is supported by the Backroads Initiative and South East Arts through funding from Create NSW and the NSW Government.
Mix & master
I'm certain they mean "route" rather than "root"
35 years of Robocop
I remember seeing the film in the cinema while in high school and enthusing about it to my friends.
Then, when it came out on video, I was unable to watch it again for years as it'd been reclassified as R-rated!
Unlike the R-rating shown in the US advert here, Australia's R is restricted to anyone under 18.
Anyway, I showed the film to my kids last year since they are all in high school.
It stands up well, despite the decades and development of various technologies -- including police robots.
Artists wanted
Red Earth Ecology is looking to commission four local artists for the "Leeton Memories" project, which will transform reminisces of older residents into shop front displays
"We have a small budget to cover materials and contribute something toward the time of the four contributors."
Edited extracts from recorded interviews with longtime residents will prompt and inform a series of shop front installations and be linked to these displays using QR codes.
"The idea is that you'll be able to hear a recorded commentary from older residents and that will inform the experience for viewers seeing the artworks," says Jason.
"We hope people will think broadly about what materials can go into making a display and the budget should help to realise their ideas."
Each display will be promoted with a profile of the contributors and discussion about the themes raised in the interview.
"We will also share our CASP application for this project with the artists, so they can get an understanding of what goes into a successful funding proposal."
Afterwards Red Earth Ecology will consider assisting with grant applications from the artists for the development of future projects in our region where they relate to the aims of that organisation.
"Red Earth Ecology was incorporated to enable projects that link people to the landscape, whether through plant regeneration activities or cultural practices like making artworks," says Jason.
"There's also a need for pathways in the Riverina so artists can develop local projects and we're willing to provide guidance."
"We want this Leeton Memories project to be the start of something that will create new memories in Leeton for years to come."
Leeton Memories is supported by Western Riverina Arts and Create NSW through funding from the NSW Government.
Screw Youtube
Youtube's automation of copyright claims should be questioned
A recording of my drumming, in fact two recordings of my drumming layered together, has been monetised by a company claiming I'm infringing on their copyright.
Someone else is collecting ad revenue from my material based on an automated response!
Youtube is facilitating this spurious claim and I think their system needs to be scrutinised.
Art is for everyone
While there's definitely space for professional artists, I think art should be for amateurs
If reading Julia Cameron's book The Artist's Way taught me one thing, it's that creativity is our human birthright.
There are almost as many ways to make art as there are to be creative and creativity is where innovation happens.
Yet I see my kids increasingly losing interest in learning to make art, partly because the model of education is based on emulating the teacher.
We need to foster creative expression in our communities since it seems as though their individual differences are disappearing as the world shrinks.
I believe everyone should have an expressive habit or two.
These outlets reflect individual experiences by channeling passing thoughts and dreams while refining techniques -- maybe even inventing new ones.
The problem with making a thing professional is that one ends up becoming a manager.
This is something I learned at university, even without studying management.
When I worked there it was kinda bizarre to observe that academics would move into management roles.
These were people whose passion had led them to specialise in fields that became increasingly obscure as they got more qualified.
There was a tension between managing students while achieving research outcomes.
Yet all the time they were researching their expertise, the university would dangle jobs in management.
Career progression for many probably stalled with the casualisation of the workforce (driven by management consultants), so the only job security that seemed available was moving into something managing the casual staff.
I feel like I've seen the same phenomena in the arts world, as one-time artists become administrators and consultants.
It makes sense as one has to learn to justify the passion to create by developing a business case to apply for grants and navigate processes like running a board, buying insurance, marketing creative outcomes, etc.
The drawback is it becomes isolating as artists share less of their inspiration, which is the stuff that makes their creative output meaningful to audiences.
As an audience I don't want to be told something is important, I want to know why it's important to the artist.
Human interest stories are engaging and the best teachers make it feel as though you're on the journey with them, discovering the outcomes as they explain their development.
In some ways it seems a similar outcome to the academics who no longer teach their specialisations, since it's the process that reveals the intricacies of a subject to an increasingly educated population.
However, the qualifications in our communities are now increasingly administrative ones.
As a result, we see the justification for creative practices framed in terms of economic values.
Maybe the move toward government budgets recognising well-being will see a new framing for the arts?
Winter warmth
Part of me regrets putting smoke into the local environment and burning logs that have the potential to be habitat.
Another part recognises the awe that stirred my ancestors as I look into the flames and let their flickering light guide my thoughts.
My family know I'm strict about when we'll have a fire and the general rule is the forecast maximum needs to be less than 14C or the minimum less than 4C.
Walking gum
This River Red Gum outside Bingara looks like it could walk around
Unfortunately the scale of the tree isn't apparent in the photograph, but I could've climbed through the space underneath this amazing tree.
Cool reports
The end of semester means reading reports about the education of my children
Usually I only pay attention to the comments and look to get a sense of how much effort their putting into subjects.
Then I'll ask my kids how they feel about the report and usually they agree.
It raises some questions, since one section details how they're learning more than a year's worth of math but acknowledges the measurement isn't indicative because the difficulty of modules varies.
I pity the kids with reports saying they're learning less than a year because who knows what discipline might be delivered in the privacy of households.
Winter sucks, right?
Anyway, I like the new reports but wonder if other subjects can do something similar.
If math can provide numerical detail, maybe English can start spicing up their comments with exotic superlatives and hyperbolic verbosity?
Art in the age of mechanical reproduction
My grandfather had a collection of paintings on his walls
When I was a child I was curious about the art produced by my uncle, but otherwise I never thought about the rest until after he died.
Then the paintings were divided among his children and my father started having paintings on his walls.
I thought it was cool that one was by Pro Hart, since I'd heard of him.
(I'm not sure who it's by, sorry I know that I should have an acknowledgment.)
So it might've been because I like riding bikes, but I hadn't really liked the painting.
I think I might've thought that the wavy lines seemed to ruin the image.
The result seemed a bit vague and indistinct, but now that's one of the things I like about it.
It's kinda dreamy and dynamic.
That was one of those lightbulb moments, when I realised how the process of painting contributed to the resulting image.
It reminded me of how colour photography works with layers to produce a representation.
Yet, rather than a chemical process, I could see how the brushstrokes built up the image.
Since then I've learned about blocking, the colour undercoat that sets a tone for a painting.
Now, when I see the painting of the cyclist, I surprise myself with new details that I admire.
The wavy lines capture movement, both in their representation and in their physical process.
Lately I've been appreciating the colour palette, particularly the light blue and lime green and brown.
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