So for the contextual studies part of course over the past few weeks we have been looking at modernism and postmodernism.
We have now been given an essay title of 'Who do you think you are talking to?'
The brief: You have to choose two famous or infamous, designers/artists/musicians/filmmakers/poets, or any producer or critic of culture from the last 150 years. One who would be regarded as a ‘Modernist’ and the other as a ‘Postmodernist’. You then have to set up a correspondence between yourself and these two cultural practioners. You ask them questions and they will reply to you AND also to each other. They will start a conversion between each other at your instigation.
This correspondence can be in any form or combination of forms you think is appropriate. It could consist of a series of letters or postcards with images of yours and their works attached to them in some way. You may want to set up a TV or radio interview with the three of you in a debating situation. This then might be in the form of a transcript in a magazine of the interview accompanied by images the interviewees wanted to show or describe. It might be a poster. It also could be made as a film or audio piece. You might want to do it via e-mail, MSN, Facebook, twitter or other social media that you feel would express your research into these people best.
I decided to go down the musician route as I thought it would be interesting to set up an audio interview between the two people showing samples of their music and having each other critique their own styles and explore about their music and the differences and similarities between them.
I have always been a fan of classical music but have never known overly much about it. So I started investigating composers from around the turn of the 20th century and decided to look deeper into Shostakovich's work. I then realised that it had been used in Eyes Wide Shut many many years after it was written.
Here is a couple of samples of his music.
For me he is very modern: his music, although rebelling greatly against the Soviet Union was very regimented and had obviously had been very influenced by very classical styles before it.
It's very interesting how his music was shaped by the culture that he was living in.
I then decided it would be interesting to choose Jonny Greenwood the lead guitarist form Radiohead who has also done solo works.
It is interesting just how may genres go into his work and how you compare the regimented form of Shostakovich's music to Jonny's varied approach using ambient noises with syncopated and off beat rhythms which create this whole new kind of genre.
It's interesting as well from a social point of view that Radiohead were one of the first bands to set up an online pay what you want approach to their album 'In Rainbows', which is very forward thinking in terms of the distribution of their album.
Here is some of Jonny's work:
This is a score for a film he wrote - interesting cause its classical yes so vastly different form shostakovich's work
And here is a song which he wrote about 90% of
And here he is playing the Ondes Martenot.
As for what the two would discuss with me. Some topics I have in mind for discussion are:
-instruments
what instruments are being used?...how are they being used?...how many are intended to be used?...what would shostakovich think of the concept of electronic instruments?
-influences
who influenced both the people?...jonny greenwood is influenced a lot by classical music are there hints of shostakovich's work in his?...shostakovich was influenced enormously by the culture of the time and the opression of the soviet union does this come forward in his work?
-purpose of the music the song
why did/do they make music?...there a point it is trying to get a cross or is it just an emotional expression?
-how is the music made
analogue/digital?
-who plays it
who is intended to play the music? and where? is there anybody in particular that is meant to listen to the music?
-what is going on that the time the music is being made
what is the culture of the time and how is that influencing the music?
-personalities of the individuals
much research needs to be done about the personalities of the individuals in order to get an interesting conversation going between the two people.
Videos of interest
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