[ISEA2004] Artists Statement: Pauline Oliveros, Diana Slattery & Stephan Moore — LISTEN DEEPLY IN A-MAZE

Artists Statement

INTERFACING SOUND CONCERT

Synaesthetically coupled sights and sounds add new time and space dimensions. Pauline Oliveros a-mazes with delays and sound geometries. Diana Slattery spirals tunnels of light, drawn by the glyphs of the visual Language, Glide. Stephen Moore voices an oracular text, surfing the waveforms in live interpretation.

Many mazes were explored to create this performance. First: the communication and control mazes the systems aspect) of any collaboration weaving three artistic visions together into a coherent, aesthetically satisfying piece are challenge enough.

Second: the technical maze-space of bringing two complex algorithmic performance systems, one aural, one visual, together in a meaningful manner, when each has a phase space of exponential depth and variety, is navigated htrough a third program, the ‘Intertwingulator’, linking and allowing flexible mapping-coupling and decoupling-among multiple parameters in each system.

Third: the structure of the performance. The title, Listening Deeply in A Maze, references Pauline Oliveros’ lifetime practice of deep listening. In her words, “Deep listening is listening in every possible way to everything possible to
hear no matter what you are doing. Such intense listening includes the sounds of daily life, of nature, of one’s own thoughts as well as musical sounds. Deep listening is my life practice”. Both Slattery and Moore have been her students in deep listening; the current work is inspired and informed by this practice.

  • Pauline Oliveros (US), composer, inventor, educator, performer, and founding mother of electronic music;
  • Diana Slattery (US), interactive multimedia artist, and author of the, novel, The Maze Game, and
  • Stephan Moore, composer, programmer, and performer collaborated in this effort.