TRAINS FOR THE BLIND
Dublin based artist Stephen Rennicks produces art, writing and music under the umbrella name of Secret Society. ‘Making hidden history since 1999’ his tag line goes. He works both over ground and covertly but prefers to engage his audience by surprise. Always exploring context, he wants to make people think, see and hear differently.On first listening to Melissa’s material I wondered why I was finding it so easy to visualise what I was hearing. I soon came to realise that the whole sonic environment of a railway station has been designed with the blind in mind. Alarms and announcements are useful but unnecessary for the sighted; they become more information we tend to tune out until they become just another layer of sound. I have with repetition teased out these sounds and layered them beside the more obvious discordant rhythm of the constant movement of the train. The last two minutes are a necessary release from the quite tiring nature of the track; I actually fell asleep during an early playback. There’s something about electric trains you can only sense in silence, electricity is mysterious. At these moments a mood of calm can descend on a station, as plain to the sighted as the blind.Increasingly I find myself coming to the conclusion that to learn to find that universal mood of calm and contemplation in every moment of waking life, in the clatter of the body of this work, should surely be our goal. To do this might be to find enlightenment itself or to take another step towards it.
The above text is from the 2004 ESB Fringe Festival Transit Catalogue to accompany my sound piece, Trains for the Blind, CD comes with catalogue in an edition of 1000. I would like here to expand on that last paragraph.
Once I understood the theme of Transit I originally submitted a short film, ‘Home’, to be shown on a loop during the festival. For various reasons this was not the piece used for the Fringe but it summed up what I am trying to get at here.
The film took the view that in the modern world we are constantly moving, even when stationary. It began with the text, ‘Home is on the Move, Home is Wherever I Exist’. While I was careful to denote only myself with these words, having no dependents or property, I feel it as being true for all people in my position.
So what is home for us, where we live, where all our stuff is, where we were brought up, where our parents still might live? Officially it would be one of those, but I personally don’t consider any of them as home. This years flat, my parent’s house, that’s not my idea of home, not my home anyway. Even a family in rented accommodation, would they feel at home?
Our obsession with buying our own home in this country is unhealthy if we only see it as property. Don’t we first need to understand what the concept of home for us really is?
I found that concept in Transit, it being the opposite of home, a fixed stable point. Wouldn’t it be great to feel at home wherever you were? Don’t people often say to ‘make yourself at home’ when we visit them?
If you have no sense of home where do you find it? Would it not be a better world if we could find a sense of home wherever we were, at anytime? To feel relaxed and comfortable in any company or situation, wouldn’t that be a world worth calling Home?
That sense of calm I mentioned is that place, I try to stay there as often as I can.
Since March 2004, for one year, Stephen Rennicks will be depositing audio cassette tapes (Sound-collage), CDR’s (Ambient electronics with theme of loss) and VHS tapes (Handheld Camcorder films) into charity shops across Dublin. So far he has produced 14 sound collages, 6 ambient pieces and 4 films.
All the formats have a label reading as follows, In pen the title of the piece followed by the number of that edition, eg. ‘ON EDGE’ 8
The remaining text is typed as follows,
JUNK OUT OF CONTEXT PROJECT
JUNK OUT OF CONTEXT : HALFWAY POINT APPRAISAL
At the beginning of this process I would have imagined producing far more ambient pieces or certainly doing more film work than I have so far. The truth of the matter is simply that I have felt more driven and inspired to create the sound-collage work. After 6 months I now know why that is. Not only have I been using the charity shop context as a convenient route to an audience, but its very contents are becoming my materials also. For example some of my favourite sound-collage work from the project have been my responses to records I have found there. ‘Catholic Record Club’ LP’s of American Priests lecturing on humility or dusty and forgotten classical records have been released from their original context, their sounds now charged with another meaning to be heard in another context. I would like to think I will balance the formats out by the end but who knows where inspiration will lead me over the remaining 6 months. I am continuing to make no references to time or place in any of the works, so that they create more questions than answers and possess a quality of mystery to them to compliment the nature of their distribution.
I believe I have also managed to remain true to my original criteria that these be art works designed to be experienced in private, their fate to be listened to at home, not looping in a public gallery space. One piece, ‘Applause’, is a good example of what I mean. Its form is about nine minutes of applause for the same snatch of fading music. After the two minute mark I believe that any intricacies of the structure, the how, are as clear to the listener as they ever will be, after that point I felt they would be starting to only hear the pure sound of the piece, if so they might start to question the very nature of applause, the subtle forms it takes, its origins, why we crave it, what it really stands for in our society. After seven minutes of this I felt you had reached a point where no more could be gained from personal thought, if your still interested its time to get the books out, the practical side of contemplation can only go so far. How many people would really stand in a gallery for that length of time anyway, they’d be lucky to get to the first point, forever marvelling at the how but never getting to the why of the piece. With the listener in the comfort of their own home with the option of repeated plays I believe they will finally get to the why, this is what I mean by working to a private art criteria with these pieces.
One of my original idea’s was of exploring the concepts of junk formats containing art but presented for purchase out of the context of a gallery/art world environment in an attempt to examine if they would still stand up as art. That is still my main justification for the ambient and film pieces as I have not used any charity shop sourced material to make them so far, apart from the formats which contain them. I have also been surprised at how fast I have been working and depositing. The most extreme case of this was one film which was shot, edited and transferred to VHS on a Thursday and in a shop on Friday. Many of the tapes and CDR’s have been similarly undertaken and so far I can honestly say I have no regrets. I will always sleep on it and decide if its something that I really think works, of course some pieces have still been of the more torturous variety but I am thankful they all aren’t. There’s a spontaneity about the process that encourages speed, there’s something great about an outlet that is immediate and always ready, no waiting on galleries or lengthy coordinating of group shows for me. The work is pure, no time being wasted on non work related matters. There are pros and cons to this approach but for now I see far more positive things about it for an artist in my position.
An essential part of the experience is coming across the piece, reading the label, wondering what its all about, deciding to buy it or not (both options are full of potential emotions), taking it home and finally playing it to puzzlement, surprise, disappointment, joy? That feeling of expectation and questioning is the secret ingredient to this project, only to be felt between that random shopper and the work. I’m sure far more people have decided not to get them than have, do they still wonder what was on it?, did they return to find it gone, the regret!
The title ‘Junk Out Of Context’ meant that the formats were the junk, but surely junk in a charity shop is in context. Should it not read ‘Art Out Of Context’ then? Yes, but only if it is art, I think it very much is but do you? I feel confident enough about the work to call it junk as I expect that others will recognise it as art. The old argument (very old) that modern art, like say, Tracy Emin’s bed, is just junk out of its proper context when presented in a gallery space still intrigues me. That her bed can take on the form of art, now being charged with everything that a gallery represents is still a step too far for many and will, I believe, be for some time to come. Perhaps her bed is art, personally I have mixed feelings about it, but wouldn’t so-called ‘True’ art be able to exist anywhere, not needing a gallery or critical acclaim to give it validity? That is one of the things I am asking with this project. I am quite relieved that the work moves relatively fast, particularly the video’s for some reason, although some shops tend to take longer. Its been very encouraging for me, a year is a long time to keep motivated on one project, so I thank everyone that took a chance on my work and helped spread the word about it, particularly Aidan Dunne of The Irish Times. Maybe you will be thanking me some day as my artistic stock rises and you find how good an investment you actually made! The motivation of the buyer really fascinates me, I can see myself doing more exploring of this aspect of the project.
Even though this project ends in March 2005 I would not be put off hunting down the last stragglers after that date. Two of the shops I had been stocking have since shut down (nothing to do with me) and I am curious where their stock goes and how long it may take for it to re-emerge. In fact as one of them was having a closing down sale I made a point of leaving extra work there just so it would go on that journey.
As this project comes to a close I will be attempting to stage an exhibition of the best of the work from it. The purpose of the exhibition would be to document the project and more importantly be the next logical step in its line of enquiry. Is the work still junk out of context in a gallery space or is it now finally art in context? With the above in mind I would be grateful if interested parties, that have not already done so, would approach me before the projects end. I see presentations looming.
There will also be a CD compiling the best of the sound collage and ambient electronics made available on Ancient Records. I would like to hear from people who bought piece’s, information like what their expectations were, what they felt about the process of accessing it and ultimately their verdict on its worth as art, perhaps I can include the responses as part of my proposed exhibition. I’m sure at the end of the project you can look forward to another rumination like this one from me as well.
One of the unexpected insights I have gained from this process is how charity shops provide a satisfying alternative shopping experience. There is a jadedness that comes from too much choice and convenience. Traditionally sales provide an outlet for people to feel real satisfaction in getting a bargain or hunting down some prized item out of a pile or box, we are still programmed to hunt and gather after all. Charity shops perform this function all year round, introducing a measure of difficulty, surprise, even risk to the proceedings. Having been in so close proximity to this phenomenon I believe it would be a massive psychological blow to many if this option was ever removed.
I actually do have a lot more to say but I know I will have few readers beyond this point, thanks for making it this far. Six months to go.
Stephen Rennicks
Dublin
September 2004
