Week 11: Uncertainty in Arts Flashcards
First linking of music to math?
Music is deeply linked to mathematics:
• Classical music of the western world was a highly mathematical undertaking
• Based on rules which are mathematical in nature
o Tempo, tones, rhythm, harmony
• This link was known from antiquity
o E.g. Pitagoras explained sound with ratios
Two tones in unison are the most harmonious sound possible
• Their ratio of 1:1 is the simplest possible ratio
An octave is the next most harmonious
• Ratio of 1:2
As the complexity of these ratios increases, the sound becomes more disharmonious
Explanations such as that by Pitagoras persisted for some time – but by the 17 and 18th centuries, scientists and musicians alike sought a better basis for harmony.
How did Helmholtz reason on sound?
• Gave a physiological interpretation of noise, providing a technical distinction between noise and music
• Reasoned the ear’s cochlea could respond to a discrete set of frequencies
o Like piano keys, certain frequencies would activate their corresponding cochlea and trigger the sense of that sound
• Thus, musical tones are composed of a few, regularly spaced frequencies
• Noise is a complex spectrum of many frequency components
o Frequencies have no relation to each other
o Like smashing a keyboard, randomly toggling many responses without regularity
First exploration into avante-garde music?
An early exploration came from the Italian Futurism movement (1910-1930’s).
• Futurism was an artistic movement, which worked around the impact of technology on life
• Was most popular in Italy, though also existed elsewhere (e.g. France)
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti and Luigi Russolo introduced the idea of noise as music:
• Neither were musicians by training – were journalists and reporters
o Saw the changing landscape of the world, with cars, factories, and the first World War
• In 1910’s, they create a “music of noise”
o E.g. Veglio di una Citta; just the noise of the city
o Used loudspeakers to amplify and combine different sounds
• Their music was avant-garde – it didn’t try to be pleasing, instead it was meant to provoke thought or provide a new experience
John Cage - how did he compose?
The 1940’s and 1950’s saw a resurgence in uncertainty and noise in music. Following WWII, the U.S. (especially New York City) emerged as a cultural leader
• Historical cultural centres (e.g Paris, Berlin, London) were in shambles
• Many EU composers fled as refugees to the U.S.
One of the most famous composers of this new music was John Cage
• Unlike Marinetti/Russolo, Cage had a classical training in music
o E.g. studied under Arnold Schoenberg
• Cage wasn’t interested in capturing the noise of the city or machinery – he was instead exploring the avant-garde music itself
Cage approached uncertainty from a different angle: that of nature
• Was influence by Eastern Culture (Zen Buddhism, I Ching)
• Sought to create music which minimized the individual’s (i.e. his own) interpretation
o Such music would come directly from nature
• A self-less music, in which he would have no part
What was I Ching?
• An ancient Chinese text on changing events, commonly viewed as a tool for fortune telling
• Provides 64 hexagrams which can be determined with chance (e.g. tossing a die, throwing sticks)
• To use I Ching, one first randomly determines a hexagram, then looks up the book’s entry for that hexagram
Cage applied this method to his composition:
- Make musical charts
a. One entry for each of the 64 hexagrams
b. Provides notes, tones, tempo… - Toss three coins to choose a hexagram
- Look up the chart for that hexagram
- Add that entry to the music
Beginnings of abstract painting?
Beginnings: Composition V (1911) by Wassily Kandinsky, a Russian born painter
• No regularity or obvious form
• Entirely about colours and shapes, does not represent anything
This was a part of a greater movement across Europe, across many fields:
• Avant-garde musicians experimented with new forms and media
• In literature, Stream of Consciousness allowed writers to purely express themselves
Jackson Pollock would explore further with Drip
Abstract expressionism painting of Jackson Pollock?
These avant-garde artists were interested in new forms/media, and this is where uncertainty came in.
One such artist was Jackson Pollock, who explored this in the 1940’s/1950’s
• Pollock lead a new movement, “Abstract Expressionism”
• He famously painted with the drip method
o Brush never directly contacted the canvas – let paint strike the canvas
This drip method introduced uncertainty to his art:
o Leaves the final form up to the material interactions
o However, Pollock would argue that this was not uncertain at all – that he retained absolute control over the paint’s trajectory
