A R T 4 0 0 2 A D V A N C E D R E S E A R C H
Wearable Sound
According to Woolman (2000, p.6), “music is much more than the surface qualities as defined by a dictionary. It is about the movement of sounds through space and time.” Therefore I try to let music lead me, which inspired me to blend it into my work and transfer the feeling of sound into my vision during my design career. Some collections are based on a certain music style or specific song. I am going to continue in this field and fully entwine the concept of sound into the creation of garments while furthering my studies.
Therefore, the intention of this creative practice project is to create the audible clothes. This idea came from my previous collection I mentioned, which were always inspired by music culture. However, it leaded me to raise a question that why the garment always is a secondary role in the performance? Does it have any possibility that the clothes could inspire music or any performance instead, in term of a wearable sound? Furthermore, base on this concept, the indigenous culture, which transfers garment to be part of instruments, would be a strong connection for my project. In order to focus on this attention, I should draw my interest on the combination of performativity, sounds and indigenous culture. All in all, the research question should be: “How to produce sound through garments which incorporate elements of Taiwanese culture?”
To context the performativity and sounds, it is necessary to acquire the depth understanding and information of these topics. Therefore, the following artists’ works let me engage my intention of the project.
Nick Cave, who designed the Sound Suit collection, is my primary research. Cave is well known for his Soundsuits. The one I want to list out in this research is the one covered with twigs (Figure 1), sculptured his scale of body and tried to express the idea that he wants the viewers treat the performers without judging their identities (Cave,2009, p.12). Through the movement,enacted by the performers, the twigs started to make the sounds and noise that let me form my work. However, the differences between Cave’s work and mine is that the intention of SoundSuit did not put the sound making as a major goal, instead, the collection is focused on identity issue based on Cave background. The sounds were accidentally produced while the performance put it in and started to move. Secondly, as an sculptural artist, Cave’s works keen on creating the wearable artifacts rather than wearable garments which I intend to work. Despite the differences, the outcome of Cave’s work allowed me to link with others works which share the same achievement in the field of wearable sound art.
Secondly, Jessica Bugg, who designed “Perceiving Dress: Optical Laces”, approached even further to my intention of this project. The film Perceiving Dress: Optical Laces tried to build a conversation between viewers and the dancer through the visual impacts. In this experimental film, the dancer , who wears a dress cover with shoelaces, uses the movement of body and sound of dress to communicate with viewers. The emotion of the concept, which Bugg tried to convey, clearly to be heard via the sound and movement made by the dress. Comparing to Cave’s works, the dress is more wearable, but still, capable of producing sounds.
Figure 1: Cave, N. (2012), Soundsuit. Available at: http://www.jackshainman.com/artists/nick-cave/ (Accessed: 20.March. 2017).
Cave, N. (2012), Soundsuit. Available at: https://youtu.be/BpNcmh3rxko (Accessed: 20.March. 2017).
Bugg, J. (2014), Perceiving Dress: Optical Laces. Available at: https://vimeo.com/99230302 (Accessed: 1.May. 2017).
After this, the performance“The Sound of Movement Wearables: Performing UKIYO” lead me connect the sonic clothes and performativity. According to Birringer and Danjoux (2013), the UKIYO is a cooperated relationship between runway and performance. The project aimed to explore “How wearability can enhance listeners’ performance of the audible or performativity of sound?” (Figure 2) Attention of UKIYO is drawn throughout to the sounding wearable through the dancers in the layering backgrounds. Based on that, my project’s concept would gain some inspirations from the main idea of the UKIYO performance “[…] into a collective behavioral environment where we listen and follow the smallest movement, the exhalation, the whisper of rustling fabric, the pleated sigh, the whirring of a tiny speaker worn on a wrist.” (Birringer and Danjoux, 2013, p.233) The audience is invited to move in and around the space which features five hanamichi (runways) and several projection screens for the virtual world graphics and animated photography.
Figure 2: Smith, P. (2010). Available at: http://www.danssansjoux.org/ukiyo/cover.html/ (Accessed: 20 March. 2017).
In order to produce sound through garments and gain the attentions from the musicians or performers, I tried to collect different types of materials that I think it might suitable to attach on textiles and design the characterize garments. In addition, I recorded the sounds they made and filmed the movement of the experimental works. (The digital format of works is available at: http://lifeblood5.wixsite.com/tingweilu/copy-of-experiment-3) After this, I choose one (Figure 3), which I like the most, to begin. The reason I choose it is that the combination, which are formed by plastic buckles, D-rings and linen tapes, can make the sound has more layers by those metal and plastic materials. Some of the works only combined the metal materials so that the sounds they made are so similar with the key’s noise, which are not suitable for the outcome I want. Despite from that, during the progress of the dress, I have encountered some challenges which lead the final outcome of the design is not powerful enough to fulfill the concept.
The combination of the sound materials and dress does not fully reach the fashion standard that I intend to achieve (Figure 3). Due to my previous job, which suffers in the fast fashion trend, I tended to design commercial clothes. Thus, I have keeping lost my sense of art and high fashion. I cannot help using the commercial stander to measure my final work. Therefore, I hesitated and wondered that does the dress achieve the goal of this project and meanwhile maintain the beauty of fashion, in term of, is it an immature work that does not fully present the idea of the project and get lost in the middle of fashion and artifact? That is the main reason that my satisfaction of the final dress dropped. Second of all, during the experimental progress, most of the initial works failed to make loud noises. Thirdly, during the dress draping, I have changed the original design of the dress. I tried to use less tapes but longer sound materials for hanging, so that the dress could create more noise. In addition, due to lack of connection between the tapes and the noise, I have connected the unique score of John Cage created by him, which is irreverent to my project, to design the similar saw-toothed pattern by tapes. (Figure 3-1)
All in all, one might treats this as prototype of the collection. On the other words, the dress makes sound while the wearers move, however, the style and the design of the dress does not reach the stander of fashion and wearable field. (The digital format of works is available at: http://lifeblood5.wixsite.com/tingweilu/final-work)
Figure 3: LU, T., 2016, The experimental work and final work
Figure 3-1: Cage, J. (1952), Williams Mix. Available at: http://www.medienkunstnetz.de/works/williams-mix/ (Accessed: 28 JAN. 2017).
Due to the challenges I mentioned above, I re-examined the initial intention of Cave’s works, which is based on African indigenous culture, it ushered me to a path that allowed me to explore the aboriginal field. “I’m looking at rituals and ceremonies: Mardi gras, Indian clothing, West African pieces, Carnival in Trinidad.” (Cave, 2009, p.13)
However, instead of boarding this field on worldwide, I choose to target the Taiwanese indigenous elements as the reference of the project. As a result of being a transportation hub during the world war, Taiwan has became a multi-cultural country that affected Taiwanese lifestyle and culture. They have been taught that the western culture is more superior to eastern one and they have done their best to imitate the culture that does not belong to them. So that those culture which is exclusive in Taiwan has fading away. (Liou, C. W, 1979, p.24) Even as a Taiwanese, I am not quite familiar with my country’s history and did not appreciate our exclusive art and culture, not to mention realizing the value of it. Therefore, I choose to use this chance to extract the beauty of Taiwan and let it be recognized in the global market. “Taiwan’s cultural variety and distinction offers potential application in the field of design, especially as designing local features into products appears to be more and more important for the global market, where products are losing their identity because of similarities in function and form.” (Lin, R.T., 2007).
Aboriginal Culture (2016), PaSta’ay. Available at: https://youtu.be/ati2lsAxW6w (Accessed: 1.May. 2017).
I treated this as a breakthrough moment. Through the ceremony video, one can observes their performing garments are able to create sounds. Due to lack of mature technology and proper tools, they managed to use the materials from nature to make the instruments, for instance, hay, shell, animal teeth and bamboos. Based on Wallaschek (1970,p.88), “in spite of their having no instruments the Australian tribes know songs and dances; anything making a noise may be used to accompany the performers.” “The Negroes are said to use everything for their musical performance that claps: wooden sticks, tin boxes of preserved meat, keys, etc.” According to Liou (1979, p.13), traditional polyphonic music and outstanding art forms of the Taiwanese aborigines are slab wood carving, uniquely formed pottery that combines ritual and practical functions, delicate glittering traditional cloth, and various forms of cross-stitch embroidery. One common feature shared by their traditional art is its close relation with daily life. All works of art are articles for daily use, too. Thus, through their tribes’ dance and art culture, these allowed me to observe the shape and the nature materials they used are able to produce noisy sound through the movement. From those references, I am able to gain the inspirations of the project. Furthermore, the dance and music are an important part of the ceremonies during the festival, so they combine the garments and amount of trims as part of the track to layer the sound of music. (Wallaschek, 1970, p.109).
In order to explore the aboriginal culture, firstly, I visited the National Museum Of Prehistory in 2017 that ushered me to explore the history, art, lifestyle and culture of taiwanese aboriginal people. It is worth to mention that “Taiwan Jade” (Figure 4), which is type of grass-green or yellow-green nephrite with a glassy sheen, was used to make ornaments, burial-goods and trims on the garment. Because of its delicate nature it can produces crispy sounds that allows wearers add the sound into the music while they dance. Unfortunately, Taiwan jade is a rare and heavy material which might not suitable for the project.
Figure 4: LU, T., 2017, Taiwan Jade
Secondly, on account of the reasons and researches above, this allowed me to apply those ideas into my creative practice. For instance, one of the Taiwanese aboriginal groups called “Sai-Siyat” use “Tapangasan”(Figure 5), which made by seeds and bamboos, to produce sound and decorate the clothes. Through the noise and whole day ceremony, Sai-Siyat people believe these would give the respect to the spirit and erase the hatred between them (Lee, 1956, p.76). Based on the shape and Tapangasan principle of sound producing, I tried to transfer this cultural element into the contemporary design, in term of blending it into the fashion clothes. However, how to keep the spirit and the meaning behind the elements and re-create a modern outline at the same time should be my biggest challenge. “By using local features in design as a strategy to create product identity in the global market, designers have noted the importance of associating products with cultural features in order to enhance product value.” (Lin, R.T., 2007)
Figure 5 : The Beauty of Taiwan (1998). Available at: http://www.tipp.org.tw/aborigines_info.asp?A_ID=15&AC_No=7 (Accessed: 20 March. 2017).
The works of UKYIO, Nick Cave, Taiwanese aboriginal culture let me engage the initial intention I drew and also link with each other. In addition, based on the trims and decorations on the aboriginal garments, which I am sure these can create sounds, I should transfer these natural materials into the contemporary crafts so that I can apply these in my designs. First of all, the artificial materials, for example, metals and plastics, should replace those from nature. After consulted with the expert of the metal field, the brass should make the crispiest sound among others type of metals. Furthermore, suggested from the professional technician, plating and coloring would affect the volume of sound produced by brass. Therefore, I should consider the original brass color while I design the clothes. Secondly, the weight should be one of the considerations. If the design might need to use amount of trims to achieved, I might need to consider replace metal to a lighter material, for example, plastic. Thirdly, the volume of sound is an essential result of the project, if the outcomes of the designs are not loud enough to fulfill the concept, I might consider putting some mini-microphones underneath and volume up the noises via speakers.
To sum up, this project extends inspiration from my old collections and level up to put the garments in a new role in the performance. Furthermore, it brings together creators from other fields. My expectation of the final outcome of this project is that I want to use the clothes, which made different sounds, as parts of the instruments to compose music through the movement of the performers. I am looking forward to fulfil the initial intention of the project and characterise it.
Finally, Lin (2007) provided a suggestion which I think it is obligatory to be done while the project be achieved “For future studies, we suggest field investigations and interviews with Taiwanese aboriginal people, in addition to an extended literature review, as a way to accurately understand their culture and art so as to avoid incorrect interpretations when transforming cultural features into modern product design.”
Reference
Birringer, J., Danjoux, M. (2013), ‘The Sound of Movement Wearables: Performing UKIYO’, Leonardo, vol. 46, no. 3, pp. 232-240.
Cave, N., Foster, K.J., Eilertsen, K., Cameron, D., McClusky, P.(2009), Nick Cave: meet me at the center of the center of the Earth, San Francisco: Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.
Kahn, D. (1999), Noise, water, meat: a history of sound in the arts, London: MIT Press.
Liou, C. W. (1979). 臺灣原住民文化藝術 (Taiwan aboriginal culture art). Taipei: Lion
Lin, R.T. (2007). ‘Transforming Taiwan Aboriginal Cultural Features Into Modern Product Design: A Case Study Of A Cross-Cultural Product Design Model’, International Journal Of Design, vol. 1, no. 2, pp.45-53.
Lee, S. (1956). 台灣原住民衣飾文化:傳統.意義.圖說 （Culture Of Clothing Among Taiwan Aborigines :Tradition-Meaning-Images）, Taipei;Taiwan: Southsky
National Museum Of Prehistory (2008) Digital Museum of Taiwan Indigenous People. Available at: http://www.dmtip.gov.tw/ (Accessed: 23 March 2017).
Wallascheck, R. (1970), Primitive Music, New York: Da Capo Press.
Woolman, M. (2000), Sonic Graphics: Seeing Sound, United Kingdom: Thames and Hudson.
