This document discusses language and rhythm transformation in sound art. It provides classifications of languages based on grammar, including analytic, agglutinating, synthetic, and polysynthetic languages. It discusses deconstruction and re-invention of structures in early 20th century art movements like Dadaism and Futurism. Specifically, it examines rhythm transformation through concepts like syncopation in music and language, using examples from ragtime music which incorporated African and European influences. The document suggests sound may be a preferable medium to text for cultural translation.

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Interviews:
James Webb
Christian Marclay
Carsten Nicolai
CarI Michael von Hausswolff
Michael J. Schumacher
Vandalism and Complaints:
Sound's Other Mask
by Brandon Labelle
Graceful Crystallisation
by Mathias Gmachl
Contact Situations:
Language and Rhythm Transformation
by Elisabeth Penker
Aesthetic Voice Phenomenon
by Thibaut de Ruyter
When is a Click not a Glitch?
by John Wynne
Blind Sound
by Daniela Cascella
CD Related Section
A textual and visual illustration
of the accompanying CD
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Sound Art is historically an inter-media discipline between
music, )anguage and visual art. It is stiil a blurry field in art
and ntusic criticism and still not clearly defined as a mediunt.
For this article the overlapping areas of language between
musrc and art are the connection points from a structut-al
point of view and from a media approach in the inter-media
field of sound art.
Classification of languages by their form of grammar:
Beginning in the 19th century, Iinguists attempted to group the world's
languages into four morphologrcal categories based on how words
are formed: analytic, agglutinating, synthetic ar-rd polysynthetlc.t
Analytic languages typrcally have words of one syllable
with no afflxes, or adCed parts; words are on their own, isolated,
as in Chinese.
In agglutinating (frorn the Latin for "to glue to") languages,
words are composed of roots, or basic parts, and one or more affixes
(preflxes at the beginning, inflxes in the middle, and sufflxes at the
end of words) with distinct meanings- An exampie is Turkish as in
hatukuviwanunulia, which means "We did not buy them (= things)
for them (= people)". The components of this word are ha (negative),
tu ("we"), ku (indicator of past), vj ("them", meaning "objects"),
wa ("them", meaning "people"), and nunu]ia ("buy for'').
In synthetic languages, the basic and added parts have
merged, and the added parts have no independent meaning. For
example, in Latln, the subject's person and number are reflected in
the form of the verb, as in fero ("i bear"), ferimus ("we bear") and
ferent ("they bear" )-
S:tuationsr Languaqe and Rhvtho T:::,:::-.:: :
Polysyntlr etic language s :. ='.-=
:.--a: have a mixture of agglutinatt:t:: 1-,
:-:a:rples include Inurt languages
ranguages. A polysynthetic language is
-,','::i elements are joined togethe:.:: :::=
irnctions as the sentence. Thus, a
: r' rre long word unit, each eleme::: :,
::-'.' as part of the sentence or phras: --:
---::: s a hypothetical example oi a
Ikatosona
I-ka-toso-na
He saw them.
--- aioition, it is frequent for polys1.-:-:::::-:
----:rrporate nouns. This means tha: ::-= .'_ _
-.',
-::: the verb. To illustrate again:
Ikamesitosona.
I-ka-me si-tos o-na.
3rd.an. sing-3rd. in.p1u-
He saw rocks.2
Structural and descriptrr-e
as having a hierarchical structure of three
:::::brnations (such as words), ani -...-:_
-
::::ces). Al1 human language has a
.::::C (signaling) ur-rits are combir:: ::
:--:::mal units of sound combinatlo::s :_=,i:
:-::phemes. A morpheme can corr=s::-_:
refer to other sound combinations tbat hac
words (such as prefixes and suffixes)-3
) e-grammatisation and cultural trans-a--: : :
i---s:orically, many visual artists rnc- -'-:-.:
',,-:-:ten about translatron and antic::a:= l
in relation to their own work - lughamF
::ansubstanstiatlon" to refer to it. --:a - _
-
Iadaists and Futurists (and later the :-: ---
developing procedures to de-g:r"i--athi-
-<e
the post-structuralists whose
:: a meta-Ianguage by which all text ca:- :=
: neutral, omniscient view outside th.=
-nstead, they pursue an inflnite pla_v c:
:c impose, or privilege, one reading o-.-::
lf the last decade, a growing number c:
:cn.te to discard the purely linguistic -.--:-...' : -
by expanding it into an ethical and political
:ommunication. Anthropologists, htera:-.-
art historians have also come to use tlre tem
way - and not only in metaphorical ways -b1r
cuiturai neg'otiations as acts of transla:-::-
led to an expansion and redeflnition ol ::-=
.ts relation to cultural context- A lack c:
Iuro-centric view, colonialism and ca.-:1--i-

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fuund. Art is historically an int'er-media discipline between
music, lanryage and visual art. It is still a blurry freld in art
and music ctiticism and still not cleatly defined as a medium'
For this afücle the overlapping ateas of language between
ausic and. art are the connection points from a structural
point of view and from a media approach in the inter-media
freld of sound art.
btsifcation of langiuages by their form of grammar:
ryinoiug in t}re 19th century, Iingnrists attempted to group the world's
Dguages into four morphological categories based on how words
e formed: analytic, agglutinating, synthetic and polysynthetic'l
Analytic languages typically have words of one syllable
üü no affi:es, or added parts; words are on their own, isolated,
rin Chinese.
In agglutinating (from the Latin for "to glue to") languages,
wds are composed of roots, or basic parts, and one or more affixes
refixes at the beginning, infixes in the middle, and suffixes at the
d of words) with distinct meanings. An example is Trrkish as in
thtktwiwanunul'a, which means "We did not buy them (- things)
rthem (= people)". The components of this word ate ha (negative),
r ('we"), ku (indicator of past), vi ("them", meaning "objects"),
a ('tJrem", meaning "people"), and nunulia ("buy for")'
In synthetic languages, the basic and added parts have
eged, and the added. parts have no independent meaning' For
rcmple, in Latin, the subject's person and number are reflected in
rat ("they bear").
Situations: Language and Rhrthm Tlansformation
Polysynthetic languages have very long, complex words
that have a mixture of agglutinating and synthetic features.
R:amples include Inuit languages, Mohawk and all Native A-mer
langnrages. A polysynthetic language is one in which a nu.mber o
word elements are joined together to form a composite word tha
fi::rctions as the sentence. Thus, a sentence or phrase is ex;rress
by one long word unit, each element of which has mea.niag usua
only as part of the sentence or phrase and not as a separate iteu
Here's a hypothetical example of a polysynthetic langnrage:
Ikatosona
I-ka-toso-na
3rd.an.sing-3rd.in.plu-see-past.perfect
He saw them.
In addition, it is frequent for polysynthetic languagies to
incorporate nouns. This means that the noun forms a compound
with the verb. To illustrate again:
Ikamesitosona.
I-ka-mesi-toso'na.
3rd.an.sing-3rd.in.plu-rock-see-past.perfect
He saw rocks.2
Structural and descriptive lingnrists view spoken laagiua
as having a hierarclrical structure of three levels: sounds, souad
combinations (such as words), and word combinations (or sen-
tences). A1l human language has a grammatical stnrcture where
sound (signaling) units are combined to produce meaning. The
minimal units of sound combinations that have meanüng are call
morphemes. A morpheme can correspond to a word, but it ca-u a
refer to other sound combinations that have meaning but are no
words (such as prefixes and suffixes).:
De-grammatisation and cultural translation
Historically, many visual artists including Marcel pushamp trave
written about translation and anticipated the problem of transl,a
ür relation to their own work - Duchamp even developed the ter
'transubstanstiation" to refer to it. Around the same time, the
Dadaists and Futurists (and later the concrete poets) were also
developing procedures to de-grammaticize langnrage. It was mur
Iike the post-stnrcturalists whose investigations challenge the it
of a meta-language by which all text can be translated, argrring
a neutral, omniscient view outside the realm of text is impossibl
Tnstead, they pursue an infinite play of signifiers and do not att€
to impose, or privilege, one reading over another. Within the cou
of the last decade, a growing number of translation theorists havt
come to discard the purely linguistic view of the translation prot
by expanding it into an ethical and political act of intercultural
communication. Anthropolo gists, literary critics, ptrilosophers ar
art historians have also come to use the term "translation" in a:
way - and not only in metaphorical ways - by viewing g6gi4t anr
cultural negotiations as acts of translation. Both developaents
led to an expansion and redeflnition of the term of translation in
its relation to cultural context. A lack of cultural translation, tbe
Euro-centric view, colonialism and capitalism have been the id
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6. Contact Situations: Language and Rhrthm Transformation
condition to ir-rstitutionalise categories like "plimitive" art, "plimitive"
music, and even 'World Music' - until now Very slowly' discourses
of re-imaging and re-hearing are starting to change museum
collections and cultural history. The recent move in translation stud-
ies within the fle]d of cultural studies has compelled many cultural
studiesscho]arstotakewhathasbeenternreda..translation
turn". A variety of grammatical structures, tone scales' rhythmic /
musical / visual structures exist in various cultures; this turn could
provide a way into ar-ralyses for the transrnission of culture not only
across linguistic but also across musical-visual boundaries Art
historian w.J.T. Mltchell has said that art criticism can exist outside
of text. Therefore, I believe that text is not an ideal medium for
the translation of rhythm and melody: an oral medium like sound
ispreferable.ThelinguisticcontextrestrictStranslationdepending
on the circumstances which have to be considered, especially for
"context-translation", where the source material is present in the
translation. The new approaches to language / sound in the Dadaist
and Futunst movemel-It were conceptually relevant in the "turn
of translatron " .
Dick Higgins' theoreticai work on sound poetry withtn
linguisticanalysisstated:"WecoulclwriteEnglishwiththe
transformations of German. We could generate new cate-
gories of what the linguists have called "illegal" sentences
- sentences that have no possible correspondences in the
physical world, sorts of new macaronjcs would be worth
exploring - puns and mixtures among different languages'
not to J:e humorous but to expand our experiences "4
De-constructing and re-inventing new structures:
At the turn of the last century, sound and noise was introduced into
thefieldofmusic,languageandvisua]artsinavvesterncu]tural
context, and the inter-medla fleld. of sound poetry / sound art was
born. In these flelds, the commonality was to break from the past of
Romanticism and Classicism, by de-constructing and re-inventiug
newstructuresormeclrat.ricaltoolsatthetimeofthelndustliai
Revolution (Modernism), colonialism and tl-re potitical conflicts of the
First and Second World Wars.
Fundamental breaks in rhythm and harmony such as synco-
pated music and 12-tone music started to happen' Transformations
in language oscillated between the flelds of tnusic, Iiterature and
art. There was no contact between the tradition of sound poetry in
African-American culture and the sound poetry of the Dadaists and
Futurists of the European avant-garde, although they occurred
simultaneously. By pointing out a few examples of re-inventing new
structures in these fields, I want to show the link and the conceptual
similarittes between them.
Rhythm transformation
In music, syncopation is the stressing of a normally unstressed beat
in a bar or the fallure to sound a tone on an accented ]reat For
example, in 4/4 tirne, tbe flrst and. third beats ale normally stressed.
If, instead, the second and fourth heats are stressed and the first
and third unstressed, the rhythm is syncopated Also, if the musician
sucldenly d.oes not piay on beat 1 - that would aiso be syncopation
:: :r: SraLtaarons La:.grag: a:::i:'::: -:: : '
The stress can alsc s:--:: :'
- :- an off-beat, as in the foi-: -. ,-::=- -
:.:s: bar is shifted bY a qua'.'=: ::
Playing a note ever s: :-::,-,:.
=:-other form of syncopatioL i=:. -.-
=:l.nt. Syncopation is occa-':::-' -'
-:=-
-s a fundamental and consia:-:;:=::' -:
alrd jazz.In the form of a back hest-
all contemporary PoPular music-s
Ragtime music emerg:l -,'.--:..
:: mass communication, such as
::-,s. Ragtime was written in:::= '-:: '.
,:nposers like Scott Joplir-r, Tc::-- l'----
liauvin, and had both an Afr:ca:- =---- .
the adventof ragtime in the 1890s' the
r:aze among blacks and whites 1:-= ---
,: the cakewalk meshed perfec:--.- '. -- --
:'.-ncopated new music. The caL;:-.'.'-'
:ance that was appropriated b-" 1 - ----:-
it had intended to lampoon, as slaves
that concluded the fancy bdls given try
wflite plantation owners oftea mis-root
:he cakewalk was in fact a satire ::
black-face often ended stage shorrr= wüb
:nitated blacks imitating whites - a
:lnstrels.
Creole transformation
Syncopated musrc developed oui :- ;'=- :' "'
songs from the era of siavery. Th: -".---
- :1-
3f attempts to describe the syncoc::=- --- -:
early antecedent of Jazz, winicin is a l:= ' -.
-rp. and applies to syncopated n:-=-'- --
. = . -
by which one or more new languag:. =:-=.:
irom a multiiingual conLact situa'-:::- : -= : -
jrew more complex when Afrtca::--:--:'-=' - i

7. l:::act Situations: Language and Rhl,ahm Transformation
:ategories like "primitive" art, "primitive"
, .. - l.l;sic - untll now. Very slowly, discourses
-:----:aring- are starting to change museum
history, The recent move in translation stud-
:: :ultural studies has compeiled many cultural
-: :ake what has been termed a "translation
:: grammatical structures, tone scales, rhythmic /
siructures exist in various cultures; this turn could
:n:o analyses for the transmission of culture not only
guistic but also across musical-visual boundaries. Art
W.J.T. Mitchell has said that art criticism can exist outside
herefore, I believe that text is not an ideal medium for
älion of rhythm and melody: an oral medium like sound
ble. The lingmistic context restricts translation depending
crrrnsitances which have to be considered, especially for
farslation", where the source material is present in the
n- The new approaches to language / sound in the Dadaist
ist movement were conceptually relevant in the "turn
lion".
)t* Higgrins' theoretical work on sound poetry within
ingnlistic alalysis stated: "We could write English with the
ransformations of German. We could generate new cate-
pries of what the linguists have called "illegaJ" sentences
-sertences that have no possible correspondences in the
ütysical world, sorts of new macaronics would be worth
rploring - puns and mixtures among different languages,
§t to be humorous but to expand our experiences.',4
Giag 2nd re-inventing new structures:
n of tJre last century, sound and noise was introduced into
f music, Langnrage and visual arts in a western cultural
d the inter-media fleld of sound poetry / sound art was
se fields, the commonality was to break from the past of
ism and Classicism, by de-constructing and re-inventingf
lrlres or mechanical tools at the time of the Industriat
a (Modernism), Coloniatism and the political conflicts of the
§econd World Wars.
hadamental breaks in rhythm and harmony such as synco-
sic a.nd 12-tone music started to happen. Ttansformations
F oscillated between the fields of music, literature and
w€ls no contact between the tradition of sound poetry in
merica:o sulture and the sound poetry of the Dadaists and
dt'he European avant-g'arde, although they occurred
ms§. By pointing out a few examples of re-inventingi new
inthese flelds, I want to show the link and the conceptual
I between them.
andOrmgf,j6p
slmcopation is the stressing of a normally unstressed beat
'the faihrre to sound a tone on an accented beat. For
in lV4 time, the first and third beats are normally stressed.
. the second and fourth beats are stressed and the flrst
msfessed, the rhythm is syncopated. Also, if the musician
iloes aot play on beat 1 - that would also be syncopation.
:i:::: SitLlations: Language ancl Rhythm TransforDlation
The stress can also shift by less than a whole beat so :: :a-s
-:: an off-beat, as in the following example where the stress in the
':st bar is shifted by a quaver (or eighth-note):
Playing a note ever so slightly before or after a beat is
=:rcther form of syncopation because this produces an unexpected
i:.ent. Syncopation is occasionally used in many music styles, but it
-s a fundamental and constant presence in such styles as ragtime
.-:-d jazz.In the form of a back beat, syncopation is used in virtually
. ' contemporary popular music.s
VrV
L
ar / I ll ?
a
a
Ragtime music emerged with the new technical means
:: mass communication, such as recordings and automatic piano
::rls, Ragtime was written in the LB90s and the early 1.900s by
-lmposers like Scott Joplin, Tom Turpin, James Scott and Louis
lhauvin, and had both an African and a European ancestry. With
:::e adventof rag'time in the 1890s, the cakewalk became a national
:raze among blacks and whites. The high stepping exuberance
:: the cakewalk meshed perfectly with the march-based, yet heavily
:..-ncopated new music. The cakewalk was an African-Amerrcan
jance that was appropriated by a white cultural mainstream that
-: had intended to lampoon, as slaves imitated the Grand March
:hat concluded the fancy balls given by whites. Althougfh the
-.;hite plantation owners often mistook the dance for child's pIay,
::-ie cakewalk was in fact a satire of whites. White minstrels in
i,.iack-face often ended stage shows with a cakewalk. Thus whites
-mitated blacks imitating whites - a cultural curiosity that only
Jrew more complex when African-Amerrcans began imitating white
nrnstrels.
Creole transformation
Syncopated music developed out of piantation spirituals and work
songs from the era of siavery. The word "ragtime" is an outgrowth
cf attempts to describe the syncopated rhythm. Ragtime is an
early antecedent of Jazz, wlnic}:r is a Creoie word meaning to speed
up, and appiies to syncopated music. Creohzation is the process
by which one or more new languages emerg:e or are fused together
from a multilingual contact situation. Frequently, this process is
tt
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8. )ntact Situations: Language and Rhythm Ttatrsfomation
associated with native use by children J:orn into the contact
situation. These so-called pidginized languages are assumed to
unclergo complication and expansion of lingurstic resources in the
process, and the term Creole be used for any new language that
results from this process. Out of the same social ciimate, ragtime
music deveioped into jazz, blues and modern music, rock and hip
hop. Ironically, the history of colonialism from an African-American
perspective became a main part of pop music and is often
cor-rsidered by contemporary composers.
Lang u ag e u ansfor m ati o n
As early as 1916, the Dadalsts in Zurich successfuliy dissolved
language that had otherwise become rigid, corrupted and discredited
due to its use in propaganda that justified the First World War'
The German artist Hugo Ball, who founded the Cabaret Voltaire
with Ernmy Hennings in 1916, declared that the word has become
commodity and has lost all dignity. Believing that language must
be dismantlecl and reconstructed anew, Ball stood on the stage of
the Cabaret Voltaire and intoned his sound poern Karawane' 191-7 '
KF RnulF N E
jolilanto bambla 0 lalli bambla
grassiga m'pfa habla horem
ögiga goransn
higo bloiko russula huiu
hollaka hollala
anlogo bung
blago bung
blago bung
bosso fataha
EAtü
s(hampa h,ulla wussa ölobo
hei tatta görem
eschige zunbada
util[tu §§mm[ ul[u ssuuldll
tumba ba- umf
kusagauma
ba - umt
Worcls and sounds were iuggled by separatit-rg speech's signifying
units from traclitional serlar-rtic functions. The poem at the level of
the word ceased to fr.rnctior-r because of the seemingly nonsense
word constructions, using dif{erent languages and pronunciatiotls;
its sigr-rification was halted wrthin a repetitive stuttering which
splintered languag:e and forced it to be experienced as pure sound'
Similarly, Tristar-r Tzara's sound poem, L'amiral..., was spoken in
three different languages at once (French, German and English)
which were al1 languages of nations then at war. The poem tells
three unrelated and absurd stories, allowing no narrative clarity or
semantic sense, and merges tilem in a multrnational structure
-:::lo and piapti with a group of intonar*:_.: :: .. : - - r -
.':--=re ail three languages are r:.' : -
,:r Tzara's and Ball's rnulir---:--g; . 1. - - -.
'=:: burlt arcund drflerence a:-: ...: .: . .
:--i nationalism of rts time.trT:--= =..' :' :
-:^ch Dadaisi perceived tl-re -:a -=-. ;
--::rc, ever-i though they borl: -..
=: -
. ,- -r. al lrro(le s OI i ire 1il11F
While sounci poetr-v l: --,-- .. -
;:putar muslc as a slngrng style aa-= l
.-.'.-c years for Hugo Ball's poern --:--:-
:-:-lure through the Talking Heac. -, .-.
;-:ndridi ... ", which are nor anc:-::: -
=-.-cke the possibility of an artiflc-a- ---".
:-atural for anyone who is intere::=: --
-::latir-rg the sounds of poetrlz frc::: - --
: it the making of poems wlth sc--=-:=
.:ch an experiment were totally a::-=--
is a poetry of sound alone be er:::::-'.' '
::-k roots of sound poetry may be s::.-
slngs, such as the Horse Songs :: ::-=
::-aterials collected by the Sven I-='':-
. : srrument t ransf ormations
- he painter Luigi Russolo concep:....-
:rntributions to moderrt-music, sc -:--:
:::s 1913 manifesto entitled The A:. '-:
:lat the instruments of orchestras a:=
scunds have to become part of mis-:1
-: developing'new instruments ,-as :-:
nents of the past, and his claim -v'.-as :-
between music and environmental s: -.
::ew instruments and noise. Russc-: :.
:ach noise and each manipulatron :: --
:lassicaI instrument.
>--l,l
bl
* !-l

9. I-iye use by children born into the contact
}: osnea pidginized languages are assumed to
II.*i* and exlransion of linguistic resources in the
pe *""rr Greole be used for any new language that
hispress- Out of the same social climate, ragtime
lfr"a iou, j"rr, blues and modern music, rock and hip
b, tt" history of colonialism from an African-American
hecame a main part of pop music and is often
t5,
"oot"mporary
composers.
rlxformation
1916, ttre Dadaists in Zurich successfully dissolved
f,thad ot'herwise become rigiid, corrupted and discredited
re in propaganda that justified the First World War.
nartist Hugo BaII, who founded the Cabaret Voltaire
Eernings in 1916, declared that the word has become
mfl has lost a]l dignity. Believing that langnrage must
bd and reconstnrcted anew Ball stood on the stage of
tVoltaire a-ud intoned his sound poem Karawane, 7977.
KFRFUTFIIE
Eüo b80bh 6 hl§ üaolla
§srgE m'pfa habla horem
Lr rrrnap U*o rüssrla huJu
ftka hollala
logg bang
reo bung
lgo bung
lo0o fataha
ET
hrya rulla *ussa 6lobl
I Ah gdren
i*rioe zünbada
jsmrms$Mür
rha h- umt
§ga$rna
r- um,
sunds were juggled by separating speech's signifying
Eaditional semantic functions. The poem at the level of
eased tp function because of the seemingly nonsense
tructions, using different langnrages and pronunciations ;
üiou was halted within a repetitive stuttering which
hgnrage ,nd forced it to be exlrerienced as pure sound.
Estan Tzara's sound poern, L'amiral. . ., was spoken in
rent l,angiuages at once (French, German and English)
e all languages of nations then at war. The poem tells
ked and absurd stories, allowing no narrative clarity or
ense, and merges them in a multinational structure
act Situations: La[guage and RhythB ltansfomation
Blsslo ad Piapti ryith a group of iatonruori in RuEsuIo'E Mile studio, 1914.
where all three languag'es are removed from any dominant position.
Both Tzara's and Ball's multi-lingual performances and sound poems
were built around difference and the refusal of the social, political
and nationalism of its time.6 The anti-nationalist politics of the
Zttich Dadaist perceived the Italian Futurists as pro-war and nation-
alisfi6, even though they both were interested in destroying the
classical models of the time.
While sound poetry in African-American culture entered
popular music as a singing style called Scat in the 1930s, it took sixty
two years for Hugo Ball's poem "I Zimbra" to mergre into popular
culture through the Talking Heads with the lyrics, "Gadji beri bimba
glandridi . . . ", which are not anchored in any one language and
evoke the possibility of an artifi.cial invented lang'uage. "Since it is
natural for anyone who is interested in poetry to try, at some point,
isolating the sounds of poetry from other aspects of it and to try
out the making of poems with sounds more or less alone; only if
such an experiment were totally artificial could something so basic
as a poetry of sound alone be entirely without precedent. The
folk roots of sound poetry may be seen in the lyrics of cettain folk
song's, such as the Horse Songs of the Navajos or in the Mongolian
materials collected by the Sven Hedin expedition."T
Instrum ent t r ansform ations
The painter Luigi Russolo conceptually made one of the earliest
contributions to modern-music, sound art and electronic music with
his 1913 manifesto entitled The Art of Noise. This manifesto claims
that the instruments of orchestras are limited and environmental
sounds have to become part of musical instrumentation. His interest
in developing new instruments was not formally based on instru-
ments of the past, and his claim was not to make a distinction
between music and envirorrmental sounds, machines as instruments,
new instruments and noise. Russolo believed that each machine,
each noise and each manipulation of the voice is equal to any
classical instrument.
I ::-: : a: S:: :a:rons Language ancl Rhlthm Tratlsformation

10. Contact Situatlonsr Language and Rhlthm Transformation
"In antiquity, life was nothing but silence. Noise was
really not born before the 19th century, with the advent of
machinery. ... Replace the limited variety of timbres of
orchestral instruments by the inflnite variety of timbres of
noises obtained through special mechanisms. ... Break
at all cost from this restrictive circle of pure sounds and
conquer the inflnite variety of noise-sounds. .., To excite
our sensibiiity, music has developed into a search for
a more complex polyphony and a greater variety of instru-
mental tones and colouring-. . " s
The six families of noises of the Futurist orchestra were:
:::ra: Sltrlations: LaDguage anal R::...:.- ::: l
sequence. In fact, the concep: ::
:=::riliar in oral cultures. " - T---= - = .-.
.r in art provide the contex't c:
"Poetry is not pros: s---:-
another formalized. I: -. -::
musical elements (:-:r=
world of words. " 1 :
'Lanquage Encarta a:---:: I i-
itikr tsooks Wikipe.irr r: : -
L .1't,1*' r,.'. - .
Hjggins Dick,'Horizo:: :._.:
University Press, 198.1 ! :: -.
van der Merwe, Peter :ri i :r -
Century Popular luusic", ffi
DeEos, T.J, "CtoulatioE: h ad
Smer 2003, p.147-153.
7 Higgins Dick, ''Horizc:-: l.-: ::: : i
S. Illinois University Pr.:s I ::- : :
B Rllssolo. Luigri, The A:: :: l::.:i
FiliioLL. Neh York: Son::::::.r : ,. :
r B11l Po. So. u: .: .:
10Cage John. Silencet Lr-_:-::: I :
Lonclon: Marion Boyars ;:: :i:::
Elisabeth Penker is a Viennese -:-..
-=:und in a sculptural context.
7
2
3
4
5
67
Runbles
2
Whistles
3
Whispers
456
Screeches Noises obtained by Voices of
percussion on metal, eimals and
wood, skin, stone, oeD
teracotta, etc.
Roas
Explosions
Crashes
Splashes
Booms
Hisses
Snorts
Creaks
Rustles
Bnzzeg
Crackles
Scrapes
Shouts
Screms
Groils
Shrieks
Ilowls
Laughs
VVheezes
Sobs
MuEbles
Grumbles
Gugles
When noise became sound for the masses
In 1928, Jack Foley invented a method to amplify plates out of
different materials to record footsteps and various sounds by using
everyday materials in film. Even now, his method is still used in
post-production in film, Noise became sound and lost its radicaiism
over time. The fleid of the Foley-artist developed, and composers
started to work with magnetic tape and the time scale of seconds
klecame relevant.
Composers Harry Partch, John Cage and Laurie Anderson,
to name only a few, realised in both a music and an art context
The Art of Noise in its completed form by merging new rhythmic
and harmonic structures with new media and using them as instru-
ments. Harry Partch merged his use of a 43-tone scale with instru-
ments he developed. Laurie Anderson deveioped and adapted
instruments in her compositions and performances. AII these funda-
mental breaks in language and rhythm transformation happened
within special contact situations. Cage's contact situatlon at
Black Mour-rtain College was a media contact to dance, painting
and architecture and also a conceptual cultural contact with Zen
Buddhism. This explains why he realised the conceptual clarm
of Russolo's The Art of Noise.
When sound art became a category in music and art, it
allowed other new inter-media disciplines to emerge. However,
formal categiories like sound scuipture do not tell us if the context
is linguistic, architectural or musical- Therefore, the form changed
but the content stayed the same in these flelds. "The idea of
beginning, middle and end is not so useful when viewed as a single

11. l:i:i- Situations: Language and Rhlthm Transformation
Eb was nottring but silence. Noise was
:=:::e the 1gth century, with the advent of
i.:p-ace the limited variety of timbres of
---.:r--:rents by the inflnite variety of timbres of
:hrough special mechanisms. ... Break
::-::- :his restrictive circle of pure sounds and
:---= -::inrte variety of noise-sounds. ... To excite
music has developed into a search for
complex polyphony and a greater variety of instru-
tones and colouring... "s
of noises of the Futurist orchestra were:
3456
Whislrers Sqeeches Noises obtained by Voices of
percussion on metal, mima.ls and
wood, skin, stone, men
teracotta, etc.
l::aact Situations: Language and Rhythm Transformation
sequence. In fact, the concept of non-Iinear dynamic time is more
:amilar in oral cultures. "g The areas of language that exist in music
:l in art provide the context of Sound Art.
"Poetry is not prose simply because poetry is in one way or
another formalized. It is not poetry by reason of its allowing
musical elements (time, sound) to be introduced into the
world of words. " 10
1 Language" Encarta Online Dictionary,2005
2 Wiki Books, Wikipedia online, 2003.
3 "Language" Encarta Online Dictionary,2005.
4 Higgins, Dick, 'Horizonsr The Poetics and Theory of Intermedia" S. Illinois
University Press 1984 p.25-29.
5 vaDderMerwe,Peter, OdginsofthePopularStyle:TheAntecedentsofTwentieth'
Century Popular Music", Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989, p.105 .
6 Demos, T.J, "Circuiations: In and Around Zurich Dada", October #105, MIT Press,
Summer 2003, p. 147-1 53.
7 Higgins, Dick, "Horizons: The Poetics and Theory oflntermedia", Carbondale:
S Illinois University Press. 1984, p.25-29.
8 Russolo, Luigi, "The Art of Noise", (futudst manifesto, 1913), translated by Robert
Filliou, New York: Something EIse Press, 1967 p.4 16.
I Ban.lt, Ros, "Solrnd Sculpture", Sydney: Fine Art Publisling Ltd, 2001, p.13 14.
10 Cage, Joh11, "Silencer Lectures and Writings Composition as Process,
London: Marion Boyars Publishers l-,td, 1973, p 41 55
Elisabeth Penker is a Vlennese artist / musrcian working with
scund in a sculptural context.
_.- i:::ll:s
;:::::ilLeS
.; -r r-Es
Creaks
Rustles
Buzzes
Crackles
Scrapes
Shouts
Screams
Groans
Shrieks
Howls
Laughs
Wheezes
Sobs
eöeca.@e sou4d for the masses
6 Foley invented a method to amplify plates out of
Eierials to record footsteps and various sounds by using
naterials in fflm. Even now, tris method is still used in
Eion in film. Noise became sound and lost its radicalism
fre field of the Foley-artist developed, and composers
work with magnetic tape and the time scale of seconds
kant.
hlrcsers Harry Partch, John Cage and Laurie Anderson,
oly a few, realised in both a music and an art context
'Äfoise in its completed form by merging new rhythmic
nic struchues with new media and using them as instru-
ry Partch merged his use of a 43-tone scale vyith instru-
üeretroped. Laurie Anderson developed and adapted
ts in her compositions and. performances. AII these funda-
laks in language and rhythm transformation happened
rial contact situations. Cage's contact situation at
mtain College was a media contact to dance, painting
ectrrre a.ud also a conceptual cultural contact with Zen
- Itis expl,ains why he realised the conceptual claim
isThe Afi of Noise.
Ihea sor:-ad art became a categ'ory in music and art, it
ibe rrew inter-media disciplines to emergie. However,
egories'like sound sculpture do not tell us if the context
b, a«:hitectural or musical. Therefore, the form changed
rrtent stayed the same in these fields. "The idea of
, middle and end is not so useful when viewed as a single
I