Ventriloquial acts : critical reflections on the art of Foley and the role of sound in social space

Abstract

The work presented herein seeks to bring together two convergent strands of research in regards to audio-visual perception and sound in social space. It is through the study of cinematic reception, and in particular, the art of Foley that the text below constructs a framework within which to critically examine different, and sometimes connecting strands of thinking around perception, listening practice, audio-visual theory, sound-art and music. Through this analysis the text and projects described below seek to both critique and offer an extension of some of the dominant theories in relation to audio-vision. Notation is used as a concept in order to contextualise and problematise Matt’s own work and that of other artists in an attempt to offer a legitimate way with which to approach different strategies of working with sound and music. The accepted dominance of the visual in both film and in society more generally is not a purely cultural phenomenon, but a perceptual one too. The contention promoted below is that an exploration of the ways in which this perceptual phenomenon is mirrored in how we approach urban listening environments and the markets and mechanisms behind consumption can lead us to a broader understanding of the nexus between perceptual auditory space and sound in social space. Despite the importance of a problematising of a prioritising of the visual, the intention of this work is not to propose a counter-attack of aural cultures against the hegemony of an ocular-centric society, or any other modality. Rather, an exploration of how post-print culture affords artists working with sound and music new sets of possibilities, and to offer new models of interpretation for the experience of sound art, audio-visual installation and experimental music.