This contribution is based on a transcript of the podcast series Voiceblind, by Morgane Billuart at ARIAS during covid lockdowns. In preparation, we - Carlo De Gaetano, Andy Dockett and Sabine Niederer of the Visual Methodologies Collective- were provided with a list of questions and a piece of hardware (a zoom recorder) to interview ourselves about our research practice. To meet in person and at a safe distance, we set out to Westerpark and found a spot where we set up the microphone and held our conversation - to be at times interrupted by an inquisitive duck or a train passing by. We talked for over an hour, and then Andy edited the conversation down to a little under 15 minutes, to fit the format of the podcast series. We inserted a reading of a story by Janine Armin, editor and narrator of Turning to the Birds, our series of machine co-authored climate fiction stories. And lastly, Morgane added her introduction before it was launched by ARIAS as the 5th episode in the Voiceblind podcast series.
It will be hard to find a Dutchmen under 50 years old who is not able to understand and speak English. Dutch pupils in secondary education spend about 4 hours a week studying grammar, reading texts, listening to conversations and giving presentations, all in English and that for four to six years. They even study cultural and historical aspects of the English speaking world. Music, films and playing online-computer games all add to a better understanding of the English language. The quality of most Dutch vowels and consonants are quite close to the quality of many English vowels and consonants. Most of the time an English utterance produced with Dutch vowel and consonant qualities will still be easily understood by native speakers of English. Phonological interference does not automatically make a Dutchman’s English unintelligible. However, why is it so easy to recognise a Dutchman as being Dutch while speaking English? Would it not be worthwhile to try and achieve a near-native accent for our pupils and students?
Music interventions are used for stress reduction in a variety of settings because of the positive effects of music listening on both physiological arousal (e.g., heart rate, blood pressure, and hormonal levels) and psychological stress experiences (e.g., restlessness, anxiety, and nervousness). To summarize the growing body of empirical research, two multilevel meta-analyses of 104 RCTs, containing 327 effect sizes and 9,617 participants, were performed to assess the strength of the effects of music interventions on both physiological and psychological stress-related outcomes, and to test the potential moderators of the intervention effects. Results showed that music interventions had an overall significant effect on stress reduction in both physiological (d = .380) and psychological (d = .545) outcomes. Further, moderator analyses showed that the type of outcome assessment moderated the effects of music interventions on stress-related outcomes. Larger effects were found on heart rate (d = .456), compared to blood pressure (d = .343) and hormone levels (d = .349). Implications for stress-reducing music interventions are discussed.
The primary objective of this research is to develop the new practical methodology of "Vocalising Resonance", as a development of existing methods. The approach intends to involve artists and citizens in a multi-sensory engagement with their surrounding environment, by collectively utilizing the 'physical', non-semantic voice as a tool for communication. This methodology's creation is rooted in the application of artistic research to well-formulated arguments within contemporary humanities studies. It also incorporates existing approaches for engaging with sound and voice in a multisensory and multidisciplinary manner. Musicologist, Nina Eidsheim argues that music research should not solely focus on the figure of sound, but should also delve into the materiality of sound as vibration (Eidsheim, Sensing Sound). Similarly, this research aims to explore the voice as an experience connected to the whole body and senses, rather than simply hearing. Several existing strategies offer starting points. The second objective of this research is to investigate how the proposed methodology of "Vocalising Resonance" may have a transformative impact on participants' consciousness, by increasing their exposure to diversity and facilitating their realisation that persons in the literal meaning of the word are “the speaking through - sonare + per- the masks that make up our social selves”(Scapp, A Question of Voice). Broadening the scope beyond traditional norms, the project paves the way for a more inclusive, sensorially rich understanding of performing arts, inviting a holistic approach that goes beyond typical categorisations, enhancing the immersive nature of performances. It prompts reflections on the significance of an audience to define a voice, the essence of a voice irrespective of language, and how the non-semantic use of voice serves as a powerful interdisciplinary communication tool within abstract performance contexts. This process seeks to offer a new perspective and transform our practices.
In this project I conduct a combination of both artistic and design research that produces an intervention in the domains of Photography and BioArt. BioArt is an art practice where artists work and/or collaborate with living organisms and life processes to create works of art and/or artistic processes. This research connects to the description of the ‘Arts + Creative PD programme’ on the basis that this – again: both artistic as well as design – research responds to a question arisen from the very centre of my own creative practice, but that its relevance focuses on an intervention in specific social-political contexts. Further detail on this can be found in the ‘Praktijkprobleem’-section and in the ‘Domeinspecifieke onderdelen’- section of this proposal. The research is grounded in a combining of artistic, design and scientific (microbiological) methodologies, resulting in an intervention not only into the practice, but also in the ethical foundations of the domains of Photography and BioArt.
