Noise

Whenever I see the word, “noise,’ I think of Bill Monroe. Love the music, and love the nasal voice, an under-rated vocal style. Oops, free-associating again!

No, the noise is mine. About me, and others. Click on the links and then come back.

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20100124/LIFE/1240311

And photos accompanying the article.

For background on the project, read Part 2 of this day's blog entry.

This is the artist’s statement I wrote for the more curious viewer/potential buyer:

“RawCan” by Patrick Collier

The challenge Mary Lou put forth was both simple and complex: Make art from a can with one bean sealed inside. So, where to go from here? Well, the bean rattles around. In fact, depending on how one moves the can, the bean is capable of producing several noises. Likewise, one can strike, rub and scratch the can and its label to create even more sounds.

“RawCan” is a series of nine recordings that explore several of the can’s sound possibilities. In keeping with the theme of “Nourish and Sustain,” some of the tracks on the CD are either looped or layered, as a kind of recycling. The results, somewhat ambient in nature, become “meditations” on the can. (And, if a meditative state is achieved while listening, one is further nourished and sustained.) Other tracks have a more rhythmic structure and highlight the can as a percussion instrument. At the heart of any sustainable practice is a simple yet effective efficiency, and it is in that spirit only hands and the can were used to create all of the sounds and beats.

Although the can is absent from the exhibited piece, there is a photo essay in the jewel case as substitution for the can's physical presence. The actual can remains intact elsewhere, and in all of its “can-ness,” continues to inspire this artist.

Playlist:

1. C(h)an(t)
2. Can of Hail
3. Canned Beat
4. Ghost Can
5. Can Factory
6. Popcan
7. Power Lines
8. Tall & Round
9. Fiction Writer

I was interviewed about my piece in the exhibit/benefit last week. And even though one may find it hard to believe it was the subject of that particular post, I wrote about that experience shortly afterward.

The article in today’s physical, tossed-up-on-the-porch newspaper is quite nice. Front page of the Arts section. Can’t miss it. Neighbors called. DW, with a joyful noise of her own, danced around the room.