Sonified freaks and sounding prostheses: sonic representation of bodies in performance art

摘要

This study is concerned with the role of sound in the presentation and representation ofudbodies in performance art that incorporates digital technologies. It consists of a writtenudthesis accompanied by a portfolio with documentation of original artwork. Since theud1960s, performance artists have explored the use of sensor technologies to registerudsignals generated by the body and synthesize or control sound. However, both practicaludand theoretical approaches to biosignal sonification in this field have almost entirelyudfocused on musical (formalist) perspectives, technological innovation, or heighteningudthe performer’s and spectator’s awareness of their body’s physiology. Little attentionudhas been paid to the usually conspicuous interaction between body and technologicaludequipment and the role of the generated sound in the context of cultural critical debatesudregarding the performing body.ududThe present study responds to this observation in two ways: Firstly, the writtenudpart of the study examines existing biosignal performance practices. It seeks touddemonstrate that artists’ decisions on the design of sensor technology and soundudsynthesis or manipulation methods are often complicit in the representation ofudnormative body types and behaviour. Drawing from a concept of the sonified body as audtransgressive or ‘freak’ body, three critical perspectives on biosignal sonification inuddigital performance are proposed: A reading of body sonification methods from audgender-critical perspective, an inquiry in the context of Mikhail Bakhtin’s concepts ofudthe grotesque and the classical body, and a conceptualization of the sonified body as audposthuman prosthetisized body. This part of the study serves as a framework for itsudsecond objective: the development of practical performance strategies to address andudchallenge cultural conventions concerning ‘the’ body’s form and role in society. Thisudaspect of the thesis is developed in conjunction with, and further explored in, theudartwork documented in the portfolio.ududThe practical part of the study consists of three digital performance works.udELECTRODE (2011) involves an anal electrode that registers the activity of myudsphincter muscle and uses this data to synthesize sound. For this work, I modified audcommercially available muscle tension sensor device designed for people with faecaludincontinence problems. Feedback (2010) encompasses components of a commerciallyudavailable fetal Doppler sensor intended to listen to the heartbeat of unborn babies. SUITud(2009-2010) encompasses several performances that feature a PVC overall equippedudwith a loudspeaker, sensor interface and Doppler and humidity sensors.