*** I promised to practice what I preach about injecting criticality to
RAW, so I think I'll comment on a few ArtBase additions as they come.
Keep in mind that I'm no practiced artCritic, and my criticism is
designed not to condescend or tear ppl down, but rather to spark
[debate/discussion]. ***

After reading Talan Memmott's bio, I'm almost ashamed to say that this
is my first encounter with his work, so I took some time to explore his
previous [work/writing/praxis]. Much of Memmott's other work uses text
extensively, often in almost accidentally poetic arrangements,
sometimes swimming in [diagrammatic/cut-up] visuals, everything
occasionally converging to sublime effect. When his work is not
impenetrable, it recalls and expands on a sort of vintage early-90s
embodiment of HyperText that caused so much feather-ruffling then as
the first formal innovation in literature since the cut-up method. In
this spirit, most if not all of his work refuses to address the network
directly, and some of his pieces are [navigated/operated] in a guided
fashion, teasing the [user/reader/viewer] with the illusion of
[control/interactivity] during linear segments. I found the majority of
his work to be frustrating, curious and [encoded/encrusted] in an alien
alternate-reality literature – in other words, I enjoyed it a great
deal.

So it was with some confusion that I viewed [N]+semble RTP #27, which
aside from its humorously baroque introScreens is devoid of text.
Rather, as a "Recombinant Tone Poem," the work takes its cue from the
musicTheory idea of a "tone poem," (also known as a "symphonic poem")
which apparently [was/is] a short [symphonic/orchestral] piece which
takes its cue from (or is supplemented by) literature, painting, or
really anything non-musical. The DNA reference "recombinant" in the
title might suggest some fancy genetic algorithms behind the curtain,
but in reality, the piece is relatively straightforward. Balls revolve
around three instruments, and by moving the mouse over these balls, a
short ["phrase"/riff] on the instrument (chosen by random from a few
pre-recorded samples) is played. By rapidly moving the mouse, one can
generate a mild cacophony.

In the spirit of a conventional tone poem, perhaps [N]+semble RTP #27
takes its cue from a specific external [concept/work], but if this is
the case I was not able to discern the reference. Maybe, as a
CyberPunkPoet, Memmott's reference is simply poetry or CyberPoetry. In
any event, the work comes across as rather thin; unlike the body of his
work, RTP #27 seems to be almost purely formalist, and worse, not even
very aesthetically pleasing (at least to these eyes&&ears). As a
soundToy, RTP #27 didn't hold my attention for longer than a commercial
break. In all fairness, however, I am operating without the knowledge
of how this piece fits into Memmott's overall practice; for all I know,
this is a technical sketch for a more ambitious project, a toe-dip in
the poolverse of soundToys, or actually more layered in meaning than I
realize.

- ben



On Oct 5, 2004, at 12:23 PM, Rhizome.org wrote:

> Just added to the Rhizome ArtBase …
> http://rhizome.org/object.rhiz?27750
>
>
> + [N]+semble RTP #27 +
> + Talan Memmott +
>
> [N]+semble RTP #27 is a recombinant tone poem for flute, vibraphone,
> and tuba created in Flash. The piece is an interactive arrangement
> instrument. As the user moves the cursor around the interface, sound
> files of short musical phrase are activated and another file is
> randomly selected.
> The musical phrases are an original composition, but the arrangement
> is of the phrases is left to user interaction with the application.