Thursday 10th January
Second workshop went well (but started late). The students really took to the process and whilst some were soldering the others were testing their mics on objects and surfaces (and hair). It’s great to get an enthusiastic group which understands why this kind of art exists, and it will make the performance much more valuable for them if it feeds back into their practice.
Friday 11th January
The final workshop also went very well. Between us we have made 33 contact mics in the last three days. All the students have been divided into performance groups and are now (hopefully) off collecting the various objects they will use. My only stipulation has been that they don’t bring any traditional instruments to the performance. This part of the workshop has been very rewarding; every student now has a hand-made mic, and a few of them have specifically said that they can see how they might use them for their final projects. I think it is important that students at this stage are aware of contemporary practice, particularly the less traditional strands like sound or performance art. They don’t have to make this kind of work, but it helps them contextualise their own ideas, and provides the background knowledge that there is more out there than meets the eye (as it were).
