Second Concept (Contemporary Art Practice)

I now knew I wanted to do something that had a more personal connect with me, one that really explored my ideas and beliefs.  I hadn't really done that with my art before, as I tried to really avoid my political opinions and such when it came to my work.  My views had always been more open and inviting.  I believe we're all equal and that we should all have an equal entitlement to the planet, and that ultimately, the best version of our world is one that works together.  I hate any sort of violence on a global scale, and honestly think it's a pointless act.  

Life feels like this pointless, yet futile struggle whilst those on a higher level (Government) make mistakes and make decisions that greatly affect us.  I feel this has been happening more and more recently, and honestly it's left me a little frustrated.  I tried to think what I would like to do to combat these feelings.  And my first instinct was to punch Donald Trump.  But trying to be a bit more realistic about it, I thought what about shouting my opinions at something?  Was there a way I could do that, I could effectively convey my point through sound?

This led me to consider sound art as a possible option.  I looked briefly as Susan Philipsz work and her ideas of 'sound sculpture' and thought it appealing.  Perhaps I could create an item or installation that worked in an environment that conveyed a message I felt strongly about.  I immediately fell in love with the idea of of having a powerful and poignant message being screamed at you from a simple, plain, unassuming item.  It felt relevant.  An item in no such position, unassuming, yet it bellows a powerful message.

The first idea I came to was a battered looking, really rather ordinary looking cardboard box.  Left frayed and semi open, sitting atop a pristine looking podium.  The idea of this piece sitting in a gallery still amuses me, and expresses how I feel that art shouldn't be taken too seriously.  By that I mean that we shouldn't take ourselves too seriously.  I really hate the pompous attitude of some galleries and artists, and putting a scrap cardboard box in a gallery really tickles me.

This box would contain a wireless speaker at the bottom of it, hidden by a fake bottom so that the box would appear empty.  I wanted to rig it so that when the lid of the box was opened, the message (which would be streamed to the speaker from a nearby device - maybe even hidden inside the podium) would play, shouting loudly and angrily directly towards the person who'd opened the box.  In a similar fashion, the message would stop then the lid was closed, and resume when opened.  For this context, I wanted the message to be repeatable, so that there was no beginning or end, and that no matter when the box was opened, it would continue on.

But I still didn't know what I wanted the audio to shout.  I thought back to speeches that inspired me, that really made me think.  And there was one that really stood out to me.  One that I would have to have the leaders of the world listen to before they were sworn into power.  And it came from an unlikely source.  I am a long time Doctor Who fan.  And in one particular episode, there's an alien race intent on usurping their own people (who happen to be taking refuge on Earth).  The Doctor tries to stop everyone from retaliating and unleashing what would be a global war.  The speech he delivers was so powerful, and nearly brought me to tears.

The speech (obviously a little out of context) is above.  I think the performance is brilliant, and the emotion behind it is incredible.  It's one of my favourite moments of the show of all time.  But the most important part of this for me is that the main point of the message is completely 100% correct.  War is pointless.  It's completely irrelevant because at the end of the day, the same thing will happen.  World leaders will need to sit down and talk to resolve the same issues that were there prior to conflict.  So what's the point?  I loved this message so much that I wanted this to be a part of my project.  I set about writing my own draft for a repeating message, inspired by this speech, that my box would shout.

I went through several drafts of the speech, all of which are really similar and so I don't think it warrants posting them all, but the final draft I wrote is as follows;

"So war.  As it turns out, is completely and utterly pointless.  It's a cruel, selfish act committed by arrogant and cowardly people in a position so far removed from those who will be forced to pay the price.  The innocents who will have no choice but to make the ultimate sacrifice.  When those demands are made, when that big red button is pushed and the conflict starts - You have no idea who is going to die!  The people who will burn.  The children who will suffer.  The hearts that are torn into pieces.  And all because of the hubris of mankind!  So do the smart thing.  The simple thing that needed to be done all long.  Right from the very start.  To sit down and talk!  To resolve our differences.  At the end of the day, humanity all wants the same thing."

I wasn't sure how I felt about this, I did like the message, but ultimately, there were too many elements of it that were directly carried over from my original inspiration.  In addition, I wasn't really sure who I wanted the recipient of this to be.  If I wanted to shout it at people in power directly, or if I considered it as more of a word of warning to the masses. 

I knew it would be my voice.  And I knew I wanted to really yell at it.  I really wanted to get some emotion into the audio.  But I was worried that having an angry Scottish person shouting this would make the similarity all the more obvious.  Elements of this idea were changed, and I still plan to work with this idea, but the context of the speech has since been scratched.