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PROJECT 2 - Deconstruct/Reconstruct

Research and development of ideas

Project Inspiration and Research, Sound Testing and CUCCR (10/19/21):

After my explorations in project 1, I wanted to further explore the idea of sound and sculptures. I had an old birdfeeder that was no longer in use, and I brainstormed how I could repurpose it. When thinking of the purpose of a birdfeeder, that being to feed birds, I began thinking about how we humans eat, and the sounds associated with our cooking, eating, and time in the kitchen.

So upon heading to the CUCCR, I collected kitchen related items, such as ceramic plates, jar lids, cutlery, and salt shakers. See the photo below to see what I collected.

I created a video playing with sounds the objects make interacting with one another, please see it to the left. This experiment resulted in many interesting and some unexpected sounds, which I am looking to recreate in my final work.

Sound research: Kitchen sounds

Birdfeeder Research:

Project Inspiration and Research, Sound Testing and CUCCR con't:

I began some research into birdfeeders as well, discovering their history. Below are a few links:

https://www.gertens.com/learn/birds/bird-feeding-history.htm
https://morebirds.com/blogs/news/a-brief-history-of-bird-feeding

STAND OUT POINTS:
- The earliest concept of birdfeeding comes from the Hindus "bhutayajna": the provision of food for birds and beings of "invisible worlds" (dogs outcasts etc.)
- "In the Old Testament of the bible, there is a passage which talks about leaving behind some of the harvest for the birds to glean. Possibly this was the root of the custom to put out bundles of wheat for the birds." God's benevolence and care has been shown through keeping provisions for birds
- "Bird feeding is an entertaining, educational and inexpensive activity that can be shared by children and adults alike. It is an excellent form of relaxation and serves to relieve stress. Bringing nature “within our grasp” not only connects us to other creatures on our planet, but provides us with the pleasure and satisfaction of helping them survive and thrive, especially when the weather is less than hospitable."
- Birds need to consume 15% of their body weight overnight just keeping warm enough to survive.
- The first bird feeder was made from a wooden cattle trough fashioned with rows of parallel perches

The specific model of bird feeder I will be using is modelled after the the Droll Yankee model, the first cylindrical design that keeps of squirrels and makes less mess. See link below, and a screen shot to the right.
https://morebirds.com/pages/the-droll-yankees-story

Windchime Research:

Project Inspiration and Research, Sound Testing and CUCCR con't:

The idea of a making a windchime: to connect the idea of birdfeeders and nature to unnoticed sounds in the kitchen.

- A windchime creates ambient and peaceful sounds, but sounds can also be jarring and annoying. Usually placed outside. By incorporating kitchen sounds to make the sounds of a windchime, I am bringing the inside outside, communal gathering for food of humans and birds (birdfeeder for birds, plates and utensils for humans)

- Deconstructing the origins of sounds, and reconstructing a new soundscape to unite inside and outside, human and nature, land and sky (birds fly, humans live on land).

- Using materiality of objects to construct a non-tangible soundscape, reconnecting with nature through sounds, act of noticing/mindfulness of small/mundane things in the everyday
- Red metal wire: represents intertwined fates of nature and humans, inseparable, sounds unite us but also keep us distant. "Throughout history and across philosophies, the red string has been worn for protection, faith, good luck, strength, and connection. While there are different views about the properties of red thread, it's viewed as a powerful tool across cultures. Today many people use it as a reminder that they're not alone" (source:https://www.karmaandluck.com/blogs/news/the-history-of-the-red-string-bracelet-how-to-use-it-today#:~:text=Throughout%20history%20and%20across%20philosophies,that%20they're%20not%20alone.)

- Kitchen sounds as windchime: comforting, ambiance, family, togetherness etc. but also in contrast arguments, bad dinner table memories (Suppertime at the dinner table is one of the only times where my family is all together, but many arguments started at the table), conflicts, judgement of each other and of the food etc.

- Irony of original purpose of first windchimes: to ward off birds
- Windchimes as warders off of disease, symbols of wealth and status, religious protections, or just simple ornaments.


HISTORY OF WINDCHIME AND ITS USES:
https://backyardscape.com/brief-history-of-wind-chimes-facts-you-didnt-know/
https://www.windchimescorner.co.uk/blog/history-of-wind-chimes

-First made in China from bone, clay, shells, bamboo and pottery
-"It is believed that farms would hang dried bamboo on their rice fields to ward off birds. The sound the bamboo made with the wind would scare them away."
- Another purpose: "Religious protections, especially around the warding off of evil spirits and garnering of peaceful ones, were a prevalent reason for wind chimes to be hung. This use dates back to at least 1100 BC in China, when tubular bells were created. Wind chimes throughout Asia were commonly hung in temples and pagodas to make them into a place of protection."
-"To Showcase Wealth and Prestige: Especially as wind chimes became more ornate and made out of precious materials, they were often used to showcase wealth and power. Thanks to modern metals like bronze becoming common in wind chime construction, it would have been rare and expensive to have wind chimes made out of anything but organic materials for a long while."
- "Chinese wind bells spread to Japan, where they were used to warn of coming disease (it was said that an epidemic would spread through the wind). Originally metal they were called "Furin" (literally "wind bell"). The advent of Dutch glassmaking techniques in the 18th century spread to the Japanese, who had never seen glass before. They fell in love with this new material and used it to make beautifully sounding glass bells which could be intricately painted and are still popular in Japan today."

Sculpture Sketch and Progress Pictures:

Artist Inspiration

Video test: old digital camera

Thinking about recording video and sound: why am I recording the sculpture in a certain way, and what message does it convey?

- I did some thinking, and to work in tandem with the themes of memory, discussions at the kitchen table, and nature, I believe that recording video in low quality and sound in high quality is the best approach.

- I want to explore through this sculpture the disjointed connection between auditory and visual memory, linking to my personal memories of arguments with my family at the kitchen table. I always remember exactly what was said and discussed, but rarely the table setting, what we ate, or how everyone was dressed. By highlighting the crisp audio of the sculpture, I am showing how words and sounds can have powerful impressions just as an image can.

- I am taking the video on an old digital camera (Fujifilm A160 digital camera) that belonged to my great aunt, and was used to capture many family moments. Growing up, all of our memories were taken on film cameras or small handheld digital cameras. Playing again on the ideas of memory, I am using this camera to evoke nostalgia.

- In terms of nature, those are sounds that often go unnoticed: like birds chirping, wind rustling the leaves etc. By making the sound of my sculpture blowing in a tree in nature very crisp, I'm bringing attention to small sounds that often go unnoticed, like the sounds of plates in the kitchen, forks, glasses, jar lids etc. to create a new soundscape, with this soundscape being an ode to the unnoticed, with the goal for viewers to walk away with the idea of slowing down in their everyday, and listening to nature around them.

Indoor sound of sculpture - recorded on cellphone

Pictures of Sculpture

FINAL High-quality recording of sound with final video

Sound test using professional recording equipment - outdoors (approx. 1:40 is where some good sounds start)

Ryth Kesselring review

Ryth Kesselring is a current Concordia MFA candidate in the Fibres and Materials program. I attended her artist talk on October 15th, 2021 on Zoom, hosted by the Fibres and Material Practices program at Concordia as part of their Lunchbox Talks. Kesselring is conducting research for her masters in the Anthropocene, the audible materiality of textile work, and the overall connections between arts and sciences. A guiding question for her practice is “if a textile could talk, what would it say?”. Kesselring reads a lot about sounds, and she pays careful attention to the ones in our everyday, and she is especially fascinated with drones, which are non-stop artificial sounds emanated from our technology. The main body of her work consists of hand-woven textiles that Kesselring incorporated electronics into, which respond to movements and the environment around the textile. The sound emitted is similar to whispers, and gets louder as the viewer approaches the piece.

Her lastest research focuses on the environment and plants in relation to textiles. The work she discussed in her talk was of her installation “Ecosystems”, an interactive textile and linen plant. Sounds of the textile change as the plant reacts to the humidity of the gallery space. She creates a natural soundscape for a plant living indoors. This work explores the human ecosystem versus the natural ecosystem. It also represents the Anthropocene, as it truly shows how much humans have modified the environment. She wants to reconnect humans and nature together, and show that we all originate from nature. This idea is connected to her focus on sound in her works, as sound is not something physically in a space, but we can still feel its vibrations and hear its frequencies. Sounds also have a strong connection to memories. The threads of her linen fabrics serve as physical connections she wants her audience to make between humankind and the environment.

In connection to my idea for project II, Kesselring is exploring inside versus outside in her practice, something I want to delve into as well. Bringing sounds from the outside inside brings another layer to her work that cannot be experienced solely through its materiality, she is using thread as an intervention to re-establish relations with ecosystems. In my work I want to bring the inside outside, connecting ideas of home and family dinners with ones of nature and human’s connections with nature through bird feeding. Additionally, I see Kesselring’s work as a quiet activism on the environment, as her goal is not to shame the viewer, but instead invite them to notice small sounds in their everyday, and sounds in nature. I too want my sculpture/video installation to be about the act of noticing, and highlighting connections between my everyday, memories and nature.

Kesselring's website: https://www.rytha-kesselring.com/ecosystems

India-Lynn Upshaw-Ruffner
Untitled (for now)
35 x 10 x 10 inches
Metal, porcelain, glass
2021

India-Lynn Upshaw-Ruffner
Untitled (for now)
Video installation 6 minutes 19 seconds
2021

India-Lynn Upshaw-Ruffner
Untitled (for now)
35 x 10 x 10 inches
Metal, porcelain, glass
2021

Further ideas for gallery installation:
Projected video one made for this project and a timelapse side by side, sculpture displayed on birdfeeder support

Some details:
- ambient radio sounds - represent kitchen chatter and noise that is
- family dog made an unexpected cameo
- Whole kitsch and DIY vibe represents the day to day problem solving needed to run a family household, its always a work-in-progress

Listen with headphones!