Some other sound pieces to consider

Inigo Manglano-Ovalle - Sonambulo Blue





The Murder of Crows by Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller



"This large installation, ‘The Murder of Crows’, continues Cardiff Miller’s explorations in creating sculptural and physical sound. Ninety-eight audio speakers are mounted around the space on stands, chairs and the wall creating a minimalist flocking of speakers. The structure of the piece tries to mirror that of the illogical but connected juxtapositions that we experience in the dream world. One soundscape moves into another with an electronic dreamscape composition shifting into sound effects such as factory noises, crashing waves or birds wings and then into a guitar and strings composition then into a choir sequence and marching band.

The title for the installation is ‘The Murder of Crows’, which means a grouping of crows. Sometimes when a crow dies, many other crows flock to the area around the dead bird and caw for over 24 hours, creating a ‘crow funeral’. The title also provides a thematic entry into the installation; a basis to create a work that becomes a metaphor for our political situation today.

Another central theme for the piece is Goya’s “Sleep of Reason Brings False Monsters” from the etching series "Los Caprichos.” In this particular one Goya shows a man asleep, his head resting on his folded arms. Owls and bats fly menacingly around his head; at his feet, a lynx sits motionless, alert and staring.

At the centre of our installation there is one physical element that echoes Goya’s etching, a small desk with a megaphone speaker lying on its side. Janet’s voice comes out of the speaker occasionally, telling a sequence of dreams. The sounds and music in Cardiff Miller’s work act like the owls and bats that envelope the sleeping man in Goya’s etching. Janet’s voice, like Goya’s dreamer is helpless to escape from her apocalyptic dreams."

Bill Viola - Room for St. John of the Cross



"In Room for St. John of the Cross, the rear wall of a dark gallery features jittery black-and-white video footage of snow-capped mountains accompanied by the cacophonous sound of wind. In the center of the gallery sits a small earth-covered structure containing a water-filled pitcher and a four-inch monitor displaying color video of a mountain. Peering inside the single window-like opening, one can hear a soft voice reciting the poetry of 16th-century Spanish mystic Juan de Yepes, who was imprisoned for nine months in a cell the size of the structure. Though he endured great suffering, St. John (as he was later canonized) wrote of the spiritual freedom he achieved through his love for God. Visitors to the work may experience it spatially, physically, emotionally, psychologically, or intellectually as part of a transformative process. "