The human body as an instrument: an investigation into its music
Croft, Graeme · RMIT Research Repository (RMIT University Library) · 2015
This project has involved investigating how the history and practice of music which incorporates the sounds of the internal body can be used as a basis of new sonic art works, how technology can advance our understanding of the internal body as a musical source of sound, and what is revealed through the composition of sonic art works which incorporate these sounds. My research has been informed both by theoretical views which advocate for all sounds being legitimate materials for composition, and by a range of practitioners and their works, such as the Cyprian-born Australian artist Stelarc, the American artist Lauren Lesko, the New York-based multimedia performer Charlemagne Palestine, and the English performer and composer, Andre Borges. This research has led to the development of methods for the mobile recording of body sounds and for performing body sounds live, as well as to recorded sound works and live performances. It has also led to knowledge about body sounds and ‘point of audition’ (Chion, M 1994), embodied listening, influenced by the ideas of the philosopher Drew Leder (Leder, D 1990), and the ‘Ubiquity’ and ‘Repetition Effects’ as they apply to body sound recordings (Augoyard J-F & Torgue, H 2005).