Digital Reproduction: Cubist Head

Artist

Alberto Giacometti began as a Surrealist in the 1930s, when he primarily made sculptures that were often described as child-like or toy-like. He was also interested in Freudian psychology and his worked involved ideas like sexuality and trauma. He also was one of the first to create physically interactive works. 

https://www.usc.edu/schools/annenberg/asc/projects/comm544/library/images/405.jpg

City Square, 1948

After the Second World War, he was influenced by the newfound interest in anxiety and isolation, and his work turned more Existentialist.He is best-known for popularizing a suffering human as a symbol of the lasting horrors of war.

http://manufacturadecentauros.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/citysquare-giacometti-1.jpg

Suspended Bal, 1931

Work

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7w16Blo49N4Sl9pSVlGc2dDZU0/view?usp=sharing

The original work is Cubist Head, pictured in the main image of this page because I created audio for this project and wasn't sure what to put there. This work initially drew my attention because of how, despite looking haphazardly drawn, I nevertheless saw some order and deliberation involved in the piece. I also looked specifically for existentialist artists because I was interested in the movement, and Giacometti is one of its greatest influencers.

The work itself is an engraving on a copperplate. He gouged  the plate to create mostly straight lines and sharp angles, but the effect in the photo looks similar to a pencil on canvas. As an etching, the work is monochromatic and emphasis remains on the lines themselves.

Approach

I didn't go in with a clear plan: I've never used Audacity before and have no audio editing experience, so my primary goal was to learn a useful tool. I vaguely knew that I wanted something chaotic in the background with something cleaner and sharper at the forefront to represent the blemished background and gouges, but that's as far as my planning went. I knew I'd spend a lot of time trying to work with Audacity (I spent 15 minutes stuck with no buttons available: you have to press stop before you edit anything, who knew), so I thought I should probably go in without crazy expectations.

Product

The base static is created using a tool Almeda demonstrated during lab, with a lower line consisting of the same track, but slowed and pitched lower. I used Audacity's built-in tone generators to make a bunch of noises and layered them on top.I originally planned to have the chirps move around spatially, but I unfortunately could not obtain a binaural recording device. Instead, I manually played with the left/right and volume of all the noises. I also split up the static into multiple sections to change the left-right of different parts.

Reflection

I don't think that I preserved the style, but I got familiar with Audacity and I value that a lot more. I think if I did this again, I would start with a wider assortment of noises and a binaural microphone. I would probably also experiment with the effects of Audacity, or maybe even use a tool with more options. Alternately, I could have explored the plugins available for Audacity more: I was trying to keep things simple for my first foray.