SAXOPHONE LIVE EXCHANGES. AN EXAMINATION OF INTERCONNECTIVITY IN ART PRACTICE THAT DEVELOPS NEW WAYS OF WORKING THROUGH DIALOGUE BETWEEN ART, MUSIC, SOUND, RHYTHM & TONALITY.
I am an internationally exhibited UK mixed-media, multi-disciplinary artist based in Lincoln and London. My artwork incorporates migration, ecology and dialogue through nonhierarchical methods of working. I work with the development of sound, words, saxophone playing, photography, silent/non silent video, and share my art practice in co-productions and collaborations. The artistic practice-led research project was initiated in order to discover how specific artists’ tools and media can impact and expand my own art practices when saxophone playing.
Through this art practice-led Phd I aimed to discover, critique and understand what are the notable changes in tonality and rhythm that occur in my improvised saxophone playing, when in dialogue with another’s art practice during a live performance. During this research visual and sound files were collected through a series of three live events, working with three different art practitioners to produce case studies that could be used in an art practice research framework. Each art practitioner was chosen for their use of different media: visual or sound materials. The artists included a fine artist; an artist working with spoken language (performed by avatars), and a sound artist who utilised sound files, electronic sound devices and computer software. The case studies documented the live production of an ‘art work’ and the resulting written reflection analysed the changes made in my saxophone playing techniques.
This artist research project is practice-led, and not only resulted in me making my own work but also involved an in depth analysis of the video and sound recordings made during the live performances. I set up the use of dialogue and not-knowing as a method to induce risk taking, the results of which were later used in live performances with performers and musicians. When comparing the three case studies, I was able to recognise how and when my playing responded to other art practitioners’ tonal shifts and rhythmic actions. As a result, I was able to apply this new knowledge into my own art practice. The contribution to new knowledge is in how artistic practice-led research produced critical insight into the development of tone and rhythm in my improvised saxophone playing. Demonstrating how different art practices produced different responses both from each other and those using a music score. Furthermore, through discussion with art and music practitioners, these practitioners have adapted dialogue and other aspects from the findings, that include not-knowing as an apparatus and tool in their practice.
As this is an artistic practice-led research project it is essential that the reader listen to the practice as they navigate the thesis. I have embedded the video and sound files throughout the chapters, to illustrate my points. The three live events formed case studies establishing interconnections between Bracey, Dutton and McArthur, and my saxophone sound. The live events can also be listened to or watched in their entirety through the following links
