Sounds of Nauman

[imomus]

Some sounds from the Bruce Nauman installation at Tate Modern:

Bruce Nauman (mono mp3 file, 2.91MB, 3 mins.)

Comments

[ohnefuehlen.livejournal.com]

Oooh, I went there not long ago! I absolutely loved that installation.

[badspelling.livejournal.com]

so are you back in london for a while now?

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Back to Berlin tomorrow.

[imomus.livejournal.com]

I mean today.

[w-e-quimby.livejournal.com]

Could you describe your own experience at this exhibit, if you went? I don't think I'm getting the full effect through the sound file; in fact, it leaves no effect at all on me. I would love to know more about this exhibit, it sounds fascinating. I did go to the website and poke around-- I was a bit confused about the claims that the artwork was a structure of sound that incorporated selected texts as well as the voices of the patrons-- could you explain that a bit more?

[ohnefuehlen.livejournal.com]

"Structure of sound" describes it very well; I myself described it as like a sculpture of sound. The exhibit, as I suspect you've read, consists of speakers mounted at various points around the hall, each playing a single human voice. The voices bear no resemblance to each other and have no common theme - a man reads aloud a lofty text, while another man simply shouts hey! hey! hey!. The sense I got from it was one of isolation; it felt as if I was the only person who could hear these phantoms. After a little while I had to listen quite carefully to discern the voices coming from the speakers from the voices of the other people wandering around the installation. All the voices demanding my attention grew slightly maddening after a while - I had been trying to listen to everybody - and I had to leave the exhibit and go look at some paintings.

[freddster.livejournal.com]

maddening, yes that's how i'd decribe it. maddened to the point where i wanted to leave as fast as possible.

Consists of speakers... each playing a single human voice

[(Anonymous)]

This sounds like the Janet Cardiff installation at the Whitechapel Gallery, which was on when Momus played there in June 2003; it was a version of Spem In Alium, performed dead straight, through 40 speakers in a big circle: again, one voice to a speaker. But the bits between the performances, about five minutes of the choir chattering, were quite creepy - it was as if everyone in the room was talking - and probably about you - and only when you opened your eyes did you realise that they weren't, and that there was hardly anyone there anyway.

[fortglacial.livejournal.com]

I really hope this travels; I love Bruce Nauman. Nice to see a sleek sound installation. Are those sound walls made of glass?

[jimyojimbo.livejournal.com]

No, as far as I can remember, the installation consists of a series of speakers arranged on either side of the turbine hall.

[freddster.livejournal.com]

i really didn't like it. it made me very irritable and cross.