Re: [-empyre-] AFFECT

[millimilli@milliechen.com]

Thanks for your comments and questions re. the PED work, James. I'll  
try to incorporate those along with Renate's queries.

I gravitated to utilizng elements like sound and scent because of  
their inherent power to activate memory - specifically corporeal and  
spatial memory, that can trigger mighty powerful reactions, emotions,  
in the the telling and re-telling of our experiences. I'm fascinated  
by the relegation to the 'minor' senses of these underestimated paths  
to perception and understanding. I think that because of their  
potentially subversive capacity, they become interesting tools to  
undermine the dominancy of spectatorship, and of the prioritizing of  
visual intelligence.

My collaborators and I have had a range of viewer/participant  
reactions that run the gamut from suspicion, fear, anger, trust,  
tranquility, euphoria, trance.

I'll mention a few instances.

In the audio installation "call," the space is stripped bare of  
everything except for a translucent saffron hued curtain at one end  
and the sound of a strong female voice singing in Arabic. As the  
visitor approaches the source of the voice, seemingly behind the  
curtain, the volume gradually diminishes until, at the point of  
reaching the curtain, the voice is barely audible. The intentional  
frustrating of the goal, that of attaining sonic (and, absurdly,  
linguistic) clarity through physical proximity, is meant to disorient  
the visitor, creating a simultaneously embracing and cautionary state.  
The interaction for this piece is always interesting to observe -  
visitors wait very patiently and quietly in line (only one body can go  
through at a time because of the interactive set-up) for their turn;  
occasionally, a visitor will drop out of the interactive area to try  
to trick the sensor and to listen more intensely to the voice.

In the performative installation "The Seven Scents," which was  
stationed near bodies of water in public places, Evelyn Von  
Michalofski and I created pairs of 'custom' perfumes and soundtracks  
to transport visitors, who we solicitously installed in comfortable  
deck lounge chairs, to other places. Instead of the romanticized  
scents and sounds of exotic destinations, our tour consisted of smells  
and noises from those spaces of limbo that tired travellers find  
themselves in for a great duration of their trip: airport and bus  
terminals, parking garages, highways, elevators, etc. Yet the mere  
suggestion of escape allowed participants to suspend disbelief and  
even the slight tinges of olfactorial and sonic unpleasantness; they  
found meditative tranquility and possibility and reverie in  
participating.

"Extreme Centre" is a recent installation made in collaboration with  
Warren Quigley for the Centre culturel canadien in Paris. A sonic maze  
was built inside the gallery, dimly lit and filled with a hushed  
cacophony of whispering. Visitors negotiated the narrow, twisting  
passages, pushed along by the different voices and startling words.  
The words are based on quotes extracted from a range of authors from  
vastly varied geographies and eras, all potentially and  
controversially definable as 'extreme' in some way. We heard that one  
visitor came out of the maze feeling debilitated - not our intention,  
but we accept it.

We haven't had any upset participants with the PED audio to date,  
though the Rio and Chongqing rides had cultural affect that we  
couldn't predict, being outsiders. The relationship of the Brazilians  
and the Chinese to certain elements sparked (positive) emotional  
responses from them, in particular nationalistic responses!, that we  
originally predicted would be received tongue-in-cheek (there's the  
culture gap for you).

I agree with you, James, that head-space audio (i.e. use of  
headphones) does seem to pose an ironic situation of being in a  
certain space but definitely not in the immediate physical space of  
the moment. I've used headphones once (in 7 Scents) but we justified  
it by having participants remain stationary and by the underlying  
notion of the piece - escape. With PED, we were adamant about staying  
away from headphones not only for the way it would cut riders off from  
being fully in the environment but of course also because of safety  
issues.

Millie