Week 10: Almost There! More adventures……
Date: 21st May 2025
Time: 4-5pm
Venue: Pats Upper Foyer
The clock is ticking and deadline of the project is approaching, Genie and I thought it might be worth to review the work we have done so far and see check on potential further actions for our project. we have finalise that our project which is in a format of a portfolio that consist of 3 main components: 1) an electronically manipulated improvisation, 2) A radicalised composition pushed the boudaries of our practice further; 3) A collaborative art piece.
The improvisation based on the final 3 notes in Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde. It is recorded in Week 3, very earlier stage of the project yet it was done after several attempt for Genie and I to improvise together.It is one of those recordings that I don’t find particularly appealing until we listened back to it. In this recording that we intended to maintain the natural contour of singing lines and nature of the improvisation, therefore only minimal manipulation that elevates the voice and no editing has been done on the track.
Our radical composition features fragments of operatic arias with the gong and soundscapes that associated with the characters that we intended to portray. We have pushed both of our practice to an extreme composition and presented the work in a montage yet complementary manner. The track is presented in the form of montage by integrating soundscapes of Turandot, Isolde and Electra serving the purpose of colliding their sound worlds together. Genie is still on the process of manipulating the track electronically and adding some icy sound effects, whilst I need to supply and record some wild cats sound for the track. I also suggested that er should incooperate the main leitmotiv of Turandot as it can provide a rel
Finally, comes to our painting that we did last week. Having the thought of we need to think about fusing our artwork together, I shared with Genie about a conversation I had with a tonmeister student Craig Mcleod about the distinction between Genie’s and my painting, different approaches that we took but out initial thought of we should just ‘Go Crazy’ for it. I initially suggested that we should stick them together so as to signify our intention of joining electronics and opera together, each piece that we made is distinct yet they connected as one piece. But this ideas have abandoned by us very quickly as we think that is not good enough.
Time to say adieu to out gorgeous masterpiece!
With so much hesitation, we mutually decided the best way to present the integration of practices in the visuals is to tear the painting apart and stick the pieces together. I remembered that the uncertainty that we had around the table, holding our painting with our hands shaking. We both know that there is no coming back once the painting was torn, the original piece just then ripped off into pieces. Of course, Genie and I choose the most dramatic gesture in breaking these paintings off. We counted to three together, giving each other the courage through our eye contact, and finally turned our anxiety and doubts into action. In less than 2 minutes, all these amazing paintings that we treasured so much were broken into pieces and shattered on the tables. We also intended not to make any piece regular. That moment of silence and the sigh that we both shared was heartbreaking but I guess we both know that it is for our own good.
Picking up the broken piece
This ripping section really an improvisation on the day through and through. We didn’t planned for it, neither prepare anything for this part of meeting. The improvisation does not end after the tearing, it is getting more frustrated when the sticking begins. The option we have on the day was tapes, as that’s the only thing that we can get from the shop at the University. But the disadvantage of it is that once the fragment were sticked on the main sheet or stick on top of the another fragments, there is no point of return and only thing that we can only is accepted that we are humans, so we make mistakes. The only verbal communication that Genie and I had in structuring the piece was merely “we probably should have a focus in the middle” and that’s it. We have mainly been observing other proactively so that we can adjust accordingly. The piece was complete in a hour’s time with our mutual efforts.
Finished Product
The final product that we got from improvising on the day was so powerful and both of us were very impressed by what we have done. We found it funny thinking about us an hour ago, who were panicking and being indecisive of whether tearing the painting is a wise option. This piece of art is definitely a good example of a good outcomes after risk-taking. (Scholarship about risk-taking)The process of taking risk is scary and unpredictable yet adventurous. This really reminds of me when I was younger, even till the beginning of my undergraduate degree. I used to be a person who cares a lot of awards. I need to be the best of everything are rather result-oriented. This also makes me more cautions and conservative in taking risk as for me at the time. I then gradually learnt more about myself. I am really a fighter. The more risk I take, the deeper end that I put myself into, even to the verge of impossible, the more I rebounce and the more I learn. Gradually I really took risk for granted as I know that I will work very hard to get out of failing despite the amount of work I need to put into it. I guess this attitude do affect me on the way I work on the project as well. Whenever Genie asked me for suggestion on “Should we do that” or “whether this or that is a good options”, usually I just say “I don’t see why not”, “ Let’s say try and see whether it work, it might be cool”. We are fortunately to have an rewarding outcome this time round. Yet, sometimes I find the experience of an unsatisfactory result or the learning from a failure a more fulfilling because since I learnt how to get better so that I will be able to cope with the same situation next time. The stumbling block that gives me the failure makes me stronger.
