Susan Philipsz - Maps and Networks

When I set out to find an artist of my choice to research relating to maps and networks I decided to revisit an artist we briefly touched upon in our first lecture based on Psychogeography. The concept and ideas of Psychogeography really interested me anyway and it seems to link into this maps and networks project really nicely.

The artist who appealed to me was Susan Philipsz:

I began looking into some background information of who she was and what her work consisted of...

- She was born in 1965 in Glasgow but currently lives ad work in Berlin

- She received a Turner Prize in 2010 for her work 'Lowlands' which is a sound installation set up in Glasgow very similar to the one she then did in London called 'Surround me'. Both explore how sound can effect space.

-All her work explores how sound can be used to effect ones self. She has two particular styles which are open sound installations in a location such as 'Lowlands' and also her work can be exhibited in galleries in a much more personal kind of way such as 'Study for Strings'.

Looking at her work:

(obviously I can't get a direct feel for her work as I have never seen/heard any of it in person however I am using clips of it to help me see how it would of worked as a piece)

Lowlands (2010)



This piece was installed under three bridges crossing over the river along Clyde Walkway in Glasgow. The song Lowlands that was sung by Philipsz herself is a very old Scottish song about a sailor who dies at sea but comes home to see his wife one last time. This is why it is relevant for this location because rivers link to the sea. There are 3 versions of this song so she recorded herself singing all three and had each one play under each one of the thee bridges all simultaneously. She had them installed under the bridges as this had a much more effective atmosphere than above. I really like this piece because it is very emotive and it kind of makes you appreciate a space which otherwise you may not always stop and look at. The underneath of these bridges are given a story and therefore it makes you think more about where you are and what you are experiencing. This song fits very well because it links the river to the sea and the story of the sailor in the song. This explores connections and networks and therefore fits very well into this project based on maps and networks.


Surround me



This sound installation was made around London in 6 unique locations. Each location was given a sound piece/song to reflect it. The locations were Change Alley, Tokenhouse Yard, London Bridge, Milk St, Moorfields high walk and Mark Lane. Each of these locations has a specific story to tell and she shows this through the sounds she chooses. She says that the hole piece in general was inspired by how quiet the financial district was at the weekend when she visited potential locations. This quiet provoked her to choose not entirely obvious locations and to give the locations their own sound with the music/songs she chose to reflect them. There is a location which interest me in particular and it is Milk Street where she chose to have a violin piece play called Lachrimae. I like the song and how emotionally provoking it is however it is the way she installed this piece which is even more interesting. she has the violinist play each one of the seven notes from the song separately and she had each note come from a separate speaker at the installation making the sound surround you completely the same way the buildings do. This makes the piece very overwhelming. I like the entire piece in all locations and how accessible it is to everyone because it allows everyone to experience the locations in their own way but still with the guidance of her sounds. I think the sounds are most effective at simply getting people to be more aware of the space they are in. That is what could potentially be really interesting to explore in my own project to do with maps and networks.

William Raban Research - Maps and Networks

William Raban

Raban is a British experimental film maker and artist. I have read that he was primarily know for his Landscape, Performance and multiscreen based film work. However before being set this task I had never heard of him so it was really exciting to be able to view his work from a new perspective with this project in mind.

Firstly I read up on his life and discovered a few things about who he was and what he did:

- Raban was born in Norfolk in 1948 and began studying and developing his art at art school in 1967. At art school he mainly worked on making physical art such as prints which were all about connecting with natural surfaces such as bark and waves. I feel like this element of his works well with this project in terms of natural and ecology however he did move on from this...

- Raban's interests in landscapes then moved on in the 80s more towards a historical and socio-political context with him looking into the history of London and the Thames. This links to our project through geography still however also shows connections in history.

- The films Raban made from the 90s are focused on looking at 'the island of Britain and its people, in the context of the global economy and the effects of urban change.'

- He now works as a Professor/Lecturer at the University for Art in London.


Looking at his Work:

Firstly to see his progression I looked at one of his earlier film pieces which did focus on Landscapes and revealing hidden features about them through film:

Broad walk (1970's)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdzZXwjQ6zg
(embedding code for this video wouldn't work hence why its a link)

I really like how abstract this piece is. It focuses quite heavily on technique in order to portray the atmosphere of this place. The time-lapse really helps to show you the hustle and bustle and it gives you a much wider image of the place then just say watching a standard video of the place. The fast pace of it also adds to the atmosphere making it seem hectic and full. Ian not sure what the over exposed parts of this piece are but I like how it sums up the place almost in a crescendo like fashion and then the loop almost begins again. Sound I think is also very important to this piece I think because it begins with the simplistic sound of the footsteps tapping which is what you would expect to hear here and then it warps that by slowing it down and speeding it up as the piece goes on. I think this shows again the place in a abstract way but still representing the busyness of it.


I then decided to watch one of his historic/political pieces to see how I liked this in comparison:

Thames Film


http://www.luxonline.org.uk/video/artists/william_raban/thames_film.html

This film was not available in full or on youtube so I managed to watch an extract of it at the link above. I found it very historical in the way it used imagery not only from the river but also it used old maps to show how the river use to be used by Mills. I like how it is informational but also artsy with interesting sounds and images. I found that it made even more sense to me once I had watched the video below which has Raban speaking in it about what he was trying to do with this film...


He explains here that he wanted to make a film about London but actually from the view point of the river. I think this as a simple concept is actually really interring because it is giving you a new way to look at something and it also adds meaning to the river whilst doing so.


After watching his work and looking into who he is and what he does I feel a lot more inspired to use this topic of maps and networks to maybe start exploring some geographical ways of working but from different and unique viewpoints.