Movement No. 1

Movement No. 2

Movement No. 3

Live Max/MSP improvisation made from field recordings of my shower, part of Stasisifleld’s “Audible Still Life” exhibition

In 2003, I answered a call for works which asked for “audio portraits of still-life set-ups [no longer than 3 minutes in duration], as well as either a photograph or video clip of the corresponding still-life. In creating the still-lives, artists should approach their construction in the same manner in which a visual artist would set up a still-life for a drawing or painting. Still-lives should consist of either a single object or a grouping of objects specifically placed together by the artist. Objects within the still-life should be chosen for both their visual and audible aesthetic value, and should be arranged in a manner that lends itself to visual and sonic exploration. This should NOT be approached as a sculpture, but rather as a grouping of objects from which an artwork will be made. The still-life is a catalyst for creating a finished artwork, NOT a finished artwork itself.”

And my answer: Do still lives need to be put together on purpose for art? Isn’t it enough to “put a frame around the world”? Did we learn anything from Cage? At one time I did purposely put all those things together… perhaps not with artistic purpose but then again, how does one define artistic purpose? I believe the highest art is life.

While making this piece, I thought about the qualities of baths and showers. Immersion. Being submerged, standing up. Able to withstand the flood. Too much of a good thing. The sound of loss in a dripping bath. The comedy of our human sounds. I would like this piece to wash over you, to tickle you, and to wake you up the way a shower does. I recorded all of the sounds on this track as I took a shower. I then built a Max/MSP patch randomizing rhythmic loops, gestures and drones, and recorded several improvisations. This is the one I liked best.