Preface

Bringing together artists, composers, academics and thinkers, this inherently interdisciplinary volume integrates practice with critical reflection, seeking to negotiate the construction of robust frameworks of understanding that are thoroughly rooted in both acting upon and thinking about the aesthetics and practices of sound and image works.

The international scope of this collection is clear, with contributors from three continents and twelve countries. This is an international discipline that benefits greatly from the open exchange of people and ideas that the world can so often seem to devalue or neglect. Such fora are increasingly essential to foster engagement, collaboration, support and exchange between, often disparate and sometimes isolated, practitioners and thinkers.

The past twenty years has seen a marked increase in the proliferation of audio-visual artforms, facilitated by the catalyst of increasingly accessible technologies, faster computing potential and the explosion of audiovisual content that surrounds us. And yet the discussions and theoretical discourse around these practices still remains relatively nascent. A number of publications and edited volumes have emerged over the last ten years which have promised to engage with and explore artistic audiovisual practice. But while these volumes were often titled affirmatively, their reality often failed to reflect the rich diversity of sound and image practices in action, weighting their contributions rather heavily towards more traditional narrative forms, such as Hollywood film.

All contributors within this volume have shared their research as part of SOUND/IMAGE, a conference running annually since 2015 (Figure 0.1). This international colloquium seeks to catalyse both theoretical and practice research within audio-visual composition; an area that lies at the intersection of many different artistic practices and academic disciplines, and which embraces the many different forms of audiovisuality, from abstract experimental film, to installation, to performance, to narrative film analysis. Reflecting the spirit of the original conference, this volume embraces the multiplicities and potentialities at the intersection of these diverse disciplines. Bringing together composers, filmmakers, animators, video artists, sound artists, film theorists, sculptors, media artists, programmers, musicians, academics, curators, media theorists, dancers and installation artists; to explore sound and image phenomena collectively, in manifold forms, allows the transfusion of ideas and approaches across institutional divides and traditional subject boundaries.

A unique contribution of this book, therefore, is the genuine convergence of ideas and perspectives from across the spectrum of audiovisual practice. It is a book that truly seeks to resolve its promise to reflect both the aesthetics and practices of the diversity of artforms that engage, articulate and apply sound and image as both artistic material and for philosophical enquiry. That practice and theory are so coherently imbricated throughout this volume is a testament to the strength of contemporary practice research; demonstrating the value and significance of practice-informed theory, and theory derived from practice. This is a field which draws upon established discourses in art history, film studies, electroacoustic music, critical theory, and thus the ideas and approaches in this book will find application in a wide range of contexts across the whole scope of audiovisuality, from visual music and experimental film, to narrative film and documentary, to live performance, sound design and composition for film, into sonic art and electroacoustic music.

The structure of this volume opens with contributions exploring wider aesthetic and philosophical concerns in relation to sound and image practice. While often concept-driven, these are always firmly grounded in relation to creative practices, suggesting frameworks and new paradigms for framing and considering the audiovisual.

Later chapters critically reflect upon individual artistic practices, revealing approaches and techniques of working with sound and image that have the potential to greatly benefit those seeking to understand the practice, whether as a critical thinker, ‘audiovisuologist’ or as a sound image composer/filmmaker/artist.

Each author makes a unique and valuable contribution to this volume, bridging both across and between the diverse subject fields and practices that make up the rich potential of audiovisuality. Their research reflects the manifold approaches and enquiries which interrogate the aesthetics and practices of sound and image; and, by extension, to the developing discourse of audiovisual practices.

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This edited collection would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of my colleagues in the School of Design at the University of Greenwich, particularly Professor Steven Kennedy, who has been an unwavering supporter of the SOUND/IMAGE project and of critically informed creative practice research; Professor Gregory Sporton, who believed in the potential of a young academic and who explicitly encouraged the development of a publication to reflect and recognise the valuable work being undertaken by those engaging with the SOUND/IMAGE conference.

It is also essential to thank Professor Leigh Landy who provided invaluable guidance and support as both my PhD supervisor and as director of the Institute for Sonic Creativity at De Montfort University; Professor Bret Battey, who’s sensitivity for, and insight, into audiovisual practice are reflected in his beautiful and inspirational audiovisual compositions – works which drew me to study with him for Master’s and PhD research at De Montfort University; and to Dr Diego Garro who inspired my trajectory of fascination with the audiovisual, by sharing his own passion for and mastery of sound and image composition, opening up whole new worlds of enquiry to an enthusiasic undergraduate student.

Alongside of this I have been incredibly fortunate to have the unwavering support of my family; especially that of my wife Emma, who has been steadfast and graciously accepting of the demands that arise as a consequence of creating and organising the great many conference events which have developed, evolved and expanded over the past ten years into SOUND/IMAGE. Without this foundational support, it would not have been possible to create a platform which is able to inspire and attract leading researchers from around the world to contribute and to innovate in the area of sound and image research.

Finally, thanks must obviously go to all of the contributors of this volume, for their openness and generosity in engaging with and delivering the project, and in sharing their invaluable research within this collection.

Andrew Knight-Hill
November 2019

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Preface

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Preface