Kim Gordon - godmother of female rock musicians everywhere. © Richard Kern
Art made from sound is still pretty rare, despite the possibilities available in this technological age. Women making experimental sounds are more unusual still, according to the curators of Her Noise – a programme of events and performances based on sound as an artistic medium.
“We realised that during the entire life of the Interference series,” said curators Lina Dzuverovic and Anne Hilde Neset, “only two female participants took part.” (Interference was an event series based at the Lux Centre in London, organised by The Wire, a music magazine concerned with the less commercial end of things.)
“This prompted us to begin investigating reasons behind the imbalance,” they continued, “hoping to uncover some lesser known artists through this process as well as provide a lasting resource in the area.”
Jutta Koether and Kim Gordon, Club in the Shadow, 2004. Courtesy South London Gallery.
The main feature of the project will be an exhibition at the South London Gallery featuring five newly commissioned works by female artists using sound as their medium. Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth is the big catch involved – an icon for female musicians of the independent ilk around the world.
Kim, who is best known for singing and playing guitar and bass in alternative rock band Sonic Youth, has created an installation called Reverse Karaoke for Her Noise. The piece invites visitors to record their own track over the pre-recorded sound of Kim’s voice.
“I always liked the idea of a disembodied voice in a space,” said Kim – a practising artist as well as musician. “Coming from a DIY punk context, it’s important for me to show how easy it can be to make music.”
Christina Kubisch's headphones will allow you to hear the hidden soundscape of the city. Courtesy Suoth London Gallery.
No stranger to free imrpovisation, Kim aims to demystify the process of music-making in Reverse Karaoke – something key to Her Noise as a whole. All the works in the exhibition involve visitors participating to complete them or set them in motion.
Kim’s work has been made in collaboration with visual artist Jutta Koether. Other artists involved include Kaffe Matthews and Christina Kubisch. Kaffe has created the Sonic Bed, which submerges the visitor in a soundwork when they lie on the bed, while Christina has developed an ‘electrical walk’. The latter allows visitors to hear the usually silent electromagnetic signals that surround us, by wearing special headphones and navigating maps of the city.
Her Noise began at Tate Modern in September 2005, where Marina Rosenfeld held her project Emotional Orchestra. The Orchestra was made up of musicians and non-musicians performing an improvisational score on stringed instruments with bows.
The exhibition at the South London Gallery will run from November 10 to December 18 2005 and the programme will continue in the UK and internationally – see the website www.hernoise.com for more information.
