Lyden i mellomrommet

Abstract

This text is critically reflecting on different aspects of the artistic research project “The sound in-between”. The interactive vocal installation could be experienced by the public 14-17 January 2016 in the mediaevel church Sola ruinkirke, outside Stavanger. The project builds upon vocal soundscapes, spatiality and listening experience forming a whole, where the listener elicits looped vocal compositions via sensors on the floor, and the music is heard through speakers. The interactive listener plays a fundamental part considering expression and listening experience, and thus becomes a musical co-creator. Conceptually the project thematizes space and sound in an art context, as a place for the listener’s prereflective experiences. The ‘in-between-space’ is a prominent metaphor throughout the text, and I reflect upon it as ‘basis’, ‘concept’, ‘process’, ‘product’, in addition to experience and learning. The following research question forms the basis for this text: How can the processes in the artistic production “The sound in-between” be illuminated, where loops as a compositional tool, spatiality and interaction design seek to give room for ‘sensuous knowledge’ in the listening experience? I place my project in the context of kunstnerisk utviklingsarbeid in a Norwegian tradition, or ‘artistic research’ referring to Borgdorff (2014). ‘Sensuous knowledge’ is connected to the listener’s experience, and Kjørup (2006) is my reference in this context. A phenomenological perspective will be seen throughout the text. In my treatment of the compositional process Kruse (2011) is my most central theoretical reference. His cross-over focus in the arts is very relevant for my thoughts on the ‘in-between’. I refer to Franinović and Serafin when it comes to interaction design. Methodically I wander between scientific method traditionally speaking, artistic method and reflection upon this method. I also reflect on the artistic process. My own reflections during the project are documented by writing log, and the installation is documented by videorecording. The compositions were developed by working with categories for improvisation, looping of several vocal layers and editing sound files in Garageband. The artistic method is also based on interaction design, using Max software and sensors, together with the conceptual molding of the church room. The project has many facets and has been a wandering between different fields and ways of working. My creative process in this project has in many ways been an artistic life in-between. In my last section I reflect on the relevance of the concept and lived world of the in-between in other contexts, including the pedagogical ones.