The first program in "This is not a reading / Ceci n'est pas une lecture: Remixes & Conversations from 'There is no soundtrack'" includes a new work by artist Richard Garet, titled "For Ming" (2020) as well as a conversation between Garet and Ma at the book launch for "There is no soundtrack" on November 14, 2020; recorded on Zoom. Born in Uruguay and currently based in New York, Garet is a sound and visual artist investigating background noise and the decadence-and-decay of technological utilities. FMI: www.richardgaret.com

For Ming

1. Richard Garet

This program in "This is not a reading / Ceci n'est pas une lecture: Remixes & Conversations from 'There is no soundtrack'" includes a new untitled work by Yann Novak as well as a recorded conversation between Novak and Ma after the completion of Novak's remix, recorded on Zoom. Novak is a queer interdisciplinary artist and composer based in Los Angeles.  FMI: www.yannnovak.com

2. Yann Novak

In this program in "This is not a reading / Ceci n'est pas une lecture: Remixes & Conversations from 'There is no soundtrack'", we have two artists: Scanner-Robin Rimbaud and Stephen Vitiello. They are long-time friends who decided to create a collaborative response to "There is no soundtrack", titled "The Image is the Soundtrack"(2021). This program includes the audio-only version of the work, along with a public conversation between Scanner, Vitiello, and Ma recorded on February 10, 2021. The audio-visual version of "The Image is the Soundtrack" can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9yliJpbNwY FMI: www.scannerdot.com and www.stephenvitiello.com

3. Scanner + Stephen Vitiello

This 4th program in "This is not a reading / Ceci n'est pas une lecture: Remixes & Conversations from 'There is no soundtrack'" includes a new work by artist Elana Mann. Based in Southern California, Mann explores practices of listening and the power of the collective voice through sculpture, sound, performance, and community engagement. This work, titled "Hungry Ears: Pitzer Choir" (2021) was created collaboratively with students in Ma's class "Sound, Art, and Power" based on their collective reading of "There is no soundtrack". It premiered on April 28, 2021, and this recording also features a post-performance conversation between Mann, the students/performers, and Ma. A score for the performance can be downloaded from the "This is not a reading" main page. FMI: www.elanamann.com

4. Elana Mann

In this program media artists Jeanne C. Finley and John Muse, who have worked collaboratively since 1988, created a new video work "Quote Unquote" for "This is not a reading / Ceci n'est pas une lecture: Remixes & Conversations from 'There is no soundtrack'". They then invited students in Ma's class "Sound, Art, and Power" to listen to its soundtrack and imagine the video that may accompany it. The students' imaginings and Finley + Muse's analyses of them form the basis of the conversation between the artists, the students and Ma, as well as additional live audience members on March 10, 2022. The video version of "Quote Unquote" is on Finley + Muse's web site (https://finleymuse.com/projects/quote-unquote/) and a compilation of the different texts referenced in the conversation can be downloaded from the "This is not a reading" main page.

5. Finley + Muse

The 6th program in "This is not a reading / Ceci n'est pas une lecture: Remixes & Conversations from 'There is no soundtrack'" is based on a new remix by Polish-American artist Monika Weiss. Her work poses questions about the body, history, and gendered violence. Central themes explored in her work include the choreography of slow time and silent gestures of lament, often performed by female protagonists, including herself. Her remix, the audio work "Thinking About History" was premiered on April 7, 2022 and recorded along with a public conversation for this program. FMI: www.monikaweiss.net

6. Monika Weiss

This is not a reading / Ceci n'est pas une lecture is a series of remixes and conversations inspired by sound. In this series, I invite artists discussed in my book "There is no soundtrack: Rethinking art, media, and the audio-visual contract" to creatively respond to it, like a DJ remixing an existing music track.

My book is a study of how sound and image produce meaning in contemporary experimental media art. In it, I argue that these avant-garde films, video art, media installations and performance as well as other hybrid forms produce radical and new audio-visual relationships challenging the visually dominated discourses in art, media, and the human sciences. "There is no soundtrack" also explores the lack of diversity within sound studies by focusing on practitioners from transnational and diverse backgrounds.

Each program in "This is not a reading" consists of one creative response—the remix—based on a reading of the book, followed by a conversation between myself and the artists, in which we talk about our collaborative process, the new work, their art practice, as well as ideas and discussions in the book.  My book was published in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, when an in-person book tour was out of the question.  Instead, I chose to explore in this series sound as a mean of communication and community-building, and the soundscape as one of the few remaining spaces where it is safe to intermingle and touch a stranger through sonic vibrations.

Additional links & credits:

Sean Brin, sound editor: https://www.instagram.com/seanathan_brin/

Finley + Muse, collaborators / artists: https://finleymuse.com/ 

Richard Garet, collaborator / artist: http://www.richardgaret.com

"There is no soundtrack" publisher: https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526142122/

This is not a reading

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