Berlin, Germany

Seeking for New Noise

This workshop invites you to explore noise as an artistic disruptor of the musical ordinary and use its usually perceived negative traits in aesthetic and imaginative ways. It will give you an insight into the history of noise and its whole spectrum, as well as introduce you to the different ways of its implementation.

Over the last 250 years, noise and its definition have undergone a great change. What started as an intensifying level of noise and sound pollution caused by the development of industrial production, machinery, and transportation, slowly gained new perspectives and started to be seen as a new material for music production at the break of the 20th century. The earliest important example was the revolutionary futuristic manifesto The Art of Noise by Luigi Russolo (1913). This increasing embrace and incorporation of the new sound impulsing into the arts can be observed throughout times in the works of Arseny Avraamov (1886-1944), John Cage (1912–1992), Iannis Xenakis (1922–2001), and many more. Originally considered unwanted, disturbing signals or sounds, the noise has become an accepted and much-used music and art material. Many music genres are dedicated to noise and its equivalents, f.e. industrial music, noise music, and glitch, to cover its harsh and aggressive side. On the other hand, noise is nowadays used for relaxation to focus on work or fall asleep.

In this workshop, we will consider the whole spectrum of noise, seek and explore disruptors of musical and artistic norms, such as noise was.

REQUIREMENTS

Various artistic approaches are welcome, nonetheless, you are expected to have basic knowledge and skills with the chosen equipment and material to complete your project. E.g., if you want to work with field recording, you need to have basic knowledge of the equipment and be able to carry out the recording, edit, and arrange the sound on your own. Some equipment can be provided by the university, however, we recommend you bring your own material and equipment for better results.

On the second day, each participant will give a 15 min presentation about a piece (art, text, performance, music, architecture, game-changing moments in the arts, etc.) or a person (artist, theorist, philosopher, politician, architect, etc.) related to the workshop theme. When talking about a person or a piece, please provide some background information (date/place of birth, the piece was shown, etc.).

For any questions about the requirements and assignment, please get in touch with the instructor at d.ishida[at]udk-berlin.de


SCHEDULE


Day 1

Introduction of the workshop theme
Insight into various approaches by different artists
Historical perspectives that have changed the art practice

Day 2

Presentation of the assignments (15 min. each)


Day 3

Presentation of the concepts
Working on individual projects + equipment list

Day 4

Working on individual projects
Individual consultations

Day 5

Final presentation

Course leader

Daisuke Ishida

Fee info

EUR 450: Min. number of participants:10
Max. number of participants:12