My Research is ...VISUAL MUSIC

Maura McDonnell

Presentation prepared forHistory and Theory of Digital Arts

Core ModuleATRL Theatre, 20th February, 2012

DAH (Digital Arts and Humanities) PhD Candidate, Trinity College, Dublin

http://visualmusic.blogspot.comhttp://www.soundingvisual.com

http://soundingvisual.blogspot.com

Visual Music is

A visually artistic and musical approach to constructing abstract audiovisual videos

HOWEVER, visual music does not have a home› A traditional genre/art form that it can call

home It is not cinema, it is not music, it is not

painting 2O Februrary 2012 Prepared by Maura McDonnell

Visual Music – maverick

In contemporary practice, visual music can be experienced /seen /heard› Cinematic settings› Music Concert settings› Art Galleries› Events type settings – festivals, special event

It is: › Fixed media, interactive, generative, live, part

of performance ?:

› an art form or a method (way of doing art)2O Februrary 2012 Prepared by Maura McDonnell

More than side by side

Visual music is not just about putting a video beside/alongside a piece of music

A visual music work typically crafts the images TO THE music/sound design/sound effects.

In a way, visual music is the ultimate in music listening...

In another way, visual music is the ultimate artistic exploration of music in cinema – where music is first and leads the way

2O Februrary 2012 Prepared by Maura McDonnell

Influences – there are several – here are some favourites

The visuals in a visual music work is the image that the music is played on.

1920s european avant-garde cinema› Viking Eggeling, Hans Richter, Walther

Ruttmann› Viking Eggeling “screen is the instrument

that the film is played on”

2O Februrary 2012 Prepared by Maura McDonnell

COUNTERPOINT

Those that work with musical constructs are of most interest

2O Februrary 2012 Prepared by Maura McDonnell

VIKING EGGELING Musical counterpoint became the

influence from which to construct elegant pictorial forms

2O Februrary 2012 Prepared by Maura McDonnell

Watch Symphonie Diagonale by Viking Eggelingon youtube

This version has no soundtrack PHEW!!!

http://youtu.be/uc5qPMSVixQ

2O Februrary 2012 Prepared by Maura McDonnell

Paul Klee - Painting

The concept and construct of counterpoint has been adapted to his painting compositions

Paul Klee - Ancient Sound - 1926

2O Februrary 2012 Prepared by Maura McDonnell

Jaroslaw Kapuscinski

Contemporary intermedia artist who explores in its most elegant and simple forms ideas about counterpoint between image and music

2O Februrary 2012 Prepared by Maura McDonnell

Watch on vimeo: http://vimeo.com/25529978

Musical constructs

Musical constructs in my earlier works – concept of musical harmony in image and sound

However, increasingly interested in acousmatic music and music concrete and electroacoustic music composition› Music sources are hidden› New sounds revealed through manipulation

I see similar analogies in visuals that I explored in recent work

2O Februrary 2012 Prepared by Maura McDonnell

SILK CHROMA

visuals: maura mcdonnellmusic: linda buckley

Concept: dermot furlongSurround sound version:Gavin Kearney

2O Februrary 2012 Prepared by Maura McDonnell

http://vimeo.com/28545002