Showing Sounds Listening to War Photographs - Reading Response
This reading response comes after reading + digesting the "Showing Sounds: Listening to War Photographs" section (pp 171-177) in Documents of Contemporary Art: DOCUMENTARY
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This section of the book touched on a lot of different aspects of sound, in particular how sound and images are related. We typically think of sound as being correlated with animation, but the author (Marta Zarzycka) urges us to think outside of the box in which we get these ideas from. Sound is present in a still image in the form of a created accompaniment, whether created by someone else, or created by us from sounds that we've heard before or sounds we create imaginatively. In either case, sound is linked to the image to enhance the emotions which vibrate throughout the viewer; to create a synesthesia of image and sound. "To hear is to also be touched both physically and emotionally."
Keeping this idea in mind, we can then start to dissect and talk about what the sound does to the image. This applies to both stills and animation. One concept that stands out in this section is that of the inverse of acousmatic sound. This would be when the cause of a sound is seen but not heard. With video portraits, this can be experienced. First, we see what looks like a still photo, so we begin to listen to the silence. Silence, of course, is anything but. It's all the sounds that we reductively hear, combined with the sounds that we impose on the image from our imagination or past experiences. Suddenly, a blink. A mouth twitch. The still portrait is actually an animated portrait. Perspective has changed, and now we hear her silence. We hear her listening and waiting. We hear the anticipation, the patience.
It's particularly important to treat sound as being just as important as the image itself. Both can stand alone as emotionally charged beings, but it's when they are combined that a new level of interpretation can be reached. Sound can overtake an image, or be a bad accompaniment. However, the right pairings are like a beautiful harmony. Furthermore, the more senses that are activated, the more information is gathered by the viewer, which has the potential to activate more feelings. This brings us closer to feeling like we're right there in the action, experiencing the image as it was created. If hearing is to be touched both physically and emotionally, then pairing sound with the correct image is to be molested both physically and emotionally -- it just grabs at you, and makes you react.
______________________________________________________
This section of the book touched on a lot of different aspects of sound, in particular how sound and images are related. We typically think of sound as being correlated with animation, but the author (Marta Zarzycka) urges us to think outside of the box in which we get these ideas from. Sound is present in a still image in the form of a created accompaniment, whether created by someone else, or created by us from sounds that we've heard before or sounds we create imaginatively. In either case, sound is linked to the image to enhance the emotions which vibrate throughout the viewer; to create a synesthesia of image and sound. "To hear is to also be touched both physically and emotionally."
Keeping this idea in mind, we can then start to dissect and talk about what the sound does to the image. This applies to both stills and animation. One concept that stands out in this section is that of the inverse of acousmatic sound. This would be when the cause of a sound is seen but not heard. With video portraits, this can be experienced. First, we see what looks like a still photo, so we begin to listen to the silence. Silence, of course, is anything but. It's all the sounds that we reductively hear, combined with the sounds that we impose on the image from our imagination or past experiences. Suddenly, a blink. A mouth twitch. The still portrait is actually an animated portrait. Perspective has changed, and now we hear her silence. We hear her listening and waiting. We hear the anticipation, the patience.
It's particularly important to treat sound as being just as important as the image itself. Both can stand alone as emotionally charged beings, but it's when they are combined that a new level of interpretation can be reached. Sound can overtake an image, or be a bad accompaniment. However, the right pairings are like a beautiful harmony. Furthermore, the more senses that are activated, the more information is gathered by the viewer, which has the potential to activate more feelings. This brings us closer to feeling like we're right there in the action, experiencing the image as it was created. If hearing is to be touched both physically and emotionally, then pairing sound with the correct image is to be molested both physically and emotionally -- it just grabs at you, and makes you react.
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