Mike Kelley and Paul McCarthy’s Violent Onsen Geisha audio piece was both interesting and confusing. If a listener had no knowledge of the name of this audio piece, she would assume the audio clip is a compilation of noises from a squeaky door, a boiling kettle, and blowing wind. Although the noises from this piece may be discomforting to many ears, the piece grew on me. I think it is intriguing that my presumptions regarding how this audio piece was constructed was completely incorrect. Likewise, the ambiguity of the piece allowed me to heighten my hearing and listen closely to figure out how this piece was produced.
Kelley and McCarthy’s piece is a great example of Russolo and Gerlach’s perspectives on sound art. Their piece was produced using sounds that could be captured by anyone, but an ordinary person would not typically address this piece as a modern audio piece because there are no blend of genres or use of instruments or voice. Kelly and McCarthy’s piece is not the most pleasant to the human ear, but it allowed me to understand Russolo and Gerlach’s point of views. We do not realize that the simple sound of flowing water or sound of a woman walking in heels can be considered a type of art.
Link: http://www.ubu.com/sound/kelley-mccarthy.html
