What is Abstract Turntablism? Pioneer Maria Chavez – Marco Gomez
A brief insight into Maria Chavez’s inspirations and mindset is given in this article. The article, though titled “What is Abstract Turntablism?” clearly highlights Chavez’s latest release at the time, which is highlighted as a rarity. Chavez doesn’t typically release recorded music as she’d rather not exist within the rigid structures based on capitalism that “corporations created to commodify sound.”
Although she was born non-hearing due to fluid retaining in her ears, Chavez does not consider this a factor to her desire to create sound, as her earliest memories are from after this issue was resolved. Chavez’s book is described to be an interactive piece- the reader is encouraged to rip out the pages as instructed.
The Marco Gomez interview with Maria Chavez’s transcript was a short, but interesting read. It is titled “What is Abstract Turntablism?”, yet doesn’t give an answer to this question. It may seem as though the article was some sort of marketing plot to entice readers of the article to buy her book. Regardless, it is very insightful to Chavez as a person. Through her style of speech, it is evident that she thinks of life in an abstracted way; she comes across as anti mainstream, anti corporation, and sees art in all aspects of life. Chavez is a sound artist I feel very aligned to, and I’m very keen to get experimenting with her methods.
Spinning Record – Emily Downe
Emily Downe’s sound and animation piece, Spinning Record, is inspired by NASA’s sending of golden records of 1977, by which NASA sent two golden records to space, which contained pieces of music members of the board deemed to be reflective of humanity at the time. Downe’s piece is created with the idea in mind that humans exist on a linear path, whilst the rest of “existence continues spinning on an endless loop. I love how Downe was able to express this idea in art, as it’s an idea that I have been attempting to verbalise for a while now. The video feels reflective of human existence, with the pace of the animation increasing as time passes. The sound design has emphasised the concept on the vinyl record, with the famous crackle heard throughout.
Spinning a Record to Pieces at 12,500fps – The Slow Mo Guys
Although not intended to be an art piece, the Slow Mo Guys have demonstrated another abstractification of the use of the vinyl record here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-DTjpde9-0, even if only intended to be a video to show their experiment on speed. I loved their creativity in finding a method to spin the record at such a fast speed, how carefully planned each stage of the experiment was. Blending the use of household items with the use of the vinyl felt like a real utilisation of resources, and proved how easy it is to carry out artistic experiments right at home.