Locative Media & The City

I thought the Erwin Redl presentation (11/30) was really great. His work was visually exciting and motivated my creative juices. He has a very interesting musical background and I was totally excited when he mentioned John Cage and his player piano rolls and the music composed by chance. I studied this in one of my own music courses. Cage and Henry Cowell were both interesting musicians we looked into. Cowell recorded "The Banshee" and often played on "prepared pianos." Sometimes items would be placed in between the strings, other times it would be set up so things would vibrate when keys were pressed. In "The Banshee" Cowell used a technique to not strum, but to move down the length of the piano strings to create a sound effect. I used to think I was a bit off when I would play with my piano when I was younger. When I had the house to myself (even when people were outside during summer) I would sometimes take apart my piano... opening the top, taking off the top section... removing the lower panel. I would play around striking and strumming the strings and using the damper pedal. It was quite interesting to me back then. When I studied about some of these techniques in college I was kind of amazed really. I felt... musically "normal" if you will. :)

Redl even talked about some experimental recording, etc. that some people have done (I believe he did some too). I can relate. I sometimes, a kid, would make a duplicate of a song I had and play them at the same time on two different stereos and fiddle until it was just in the right spot. Eventually, you get these really neat sounds produced when the sounds waves are just a SMALL amount off. Totally neat. Well I guess you can see I have a musical soft spot in my heart.

The effect of his work in Tampa intrigued me. I wish I had known about it a few years ago, when it might have still been up, because now that a couple of friends live in Florida I travel there. I would've been interested in seeing it firsthand. What I've seen so far of his work I do like. It's very different and I like the idea of the LEDs being using. In the back of my head though, I know there are a few people out there who would argue it's labeling as "art" and not just an "LED project," etc. Some people say if the average person could do it it's not art. But I tend to disagree. Art may have value, but it's the value that people give it that is important and which makes it important. Obviously plenty of people think his work is important and worth value. He has been contacted by some pretty noteworthy companies, etc.