AA1 – Sem2, Wk5: Sound Art

Ed Osborn's 'Standard Ploy' (recorded October, 1994, at STEIM (Amsterdam)) uses sonic events to challenge our senses, expectations and perceptions. Visually, a bandstand guitar player from the forties or fifties. The first twist comes when the guitar 'playing' in no way fits the visual image; a series of strange plucking and sliding sweeps, scratchy noises. Effects using the tremolo arm. The next twist comes when the guitar sounds slowly snap adrift from the actual physical strumming and other manipulations. From the programme notes: " ... the sounds of a performer gradually become temporally disassociated from the physical actions undertaken to produce them. " I'm imagining by use of a short delay time which gradually, almost imperceptibly, increases. Unfortunately I couldn't find much info regarding the technical aspects of this work. I also imagine there would come a point where you realised the guitar playing really is getting out of time with the guitar sounding. No doubt a disjointed and unnerving sensation for those present. Seasickness? Coffee when you're expecting tea? For a further explanation of 'Standard Ploy' from the artist, visit:

http://www.roving.net/soundworks/standardploy.html

Good art should challenge and make us think. For mine, this work does both.

Ed Osborn was born in Helsinki, Finland (date unknown) and spent an " unclear portion of the 1980's " studying music composition under Alvin Lucier and Ron Kuivila at Weslyann University, Conneticut. After this he headed " for Boston where he taught electronic music and sound art at the Museum School and performed for several years with the Ski-A-Delics ... " During this time he also pursued a (reasonably successful) career in motorsports.

More recently? I couldn't hope to put it more eloquently than (I expect) the man himself;

" Over the last dozen or so years Ed has somehow convinced various powers-that-be to exhibit his work at otherwise-reputable spaces from New Zealand to Newfoundland. In addition, his perfomances have tested the patience of audiences from Brisbane to Barcelona. A surprisingly large number of funders have kindly provided Ed with living quarters, time, space, support services, and money to pursue his projects at one point or another. "

* All pictures and quotes in the closing short bio retrieved from: http://www.roving.net/bio.html. 26 August, 2007

Haines, Christian. "Week 5 - Sound Art." Audio Arts 1, August 21, 21 August, 2007.

Osborn, Ed. "Ed Osborn - Sounds & Music; Standard Ploy." Ed Osborn. 2007. http://www.roving.net/soundworks/standardploy.html (accessed August 24, 2007).

pp 15 - 18, 31 – 42, 59 - 66. Hess, Felix. 2003, Light as air, Bilingual edn, Kehrer Verlag.

pp ix - xvi. LaBelle, Brandon. 2006, Background Noise: Perspectives on Sound Art,
Continuum International Publishing Group .Inc, New York.

p 8. Roads, Curtis 2001, Microsound, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.