Air Guitar has been exhibited at Scream Studios, Brighton 2009 and The Shunt Lounge, London 2009. The piece reveals the actual physicality of sound as multiple electric guitars feedback in a slowly evolving self sustaining system. Unlike an actual air guitar competition, where competitors re enact the gestural theater of their rock guitar heroes, Air Guitar completely removes this exhibitionism, in fact removes any human input. It Leaves just the guitars hanging in mid air, revealing a hidden sonic landscape of subtle feedback tones and amplifier hiss that would normally go unnoticed.
Air Guitar, Scream Studios, Brighton 2009
Air Guitar, Scream Studios, Brighton 2009
Air Guitar, Scream Studios, Brighton 2009
Air Guitar, Scream Studios, Brighton 2009
Air Guitar can also be exhibited as a live performance but, human input is still reduced to a bare minimum. The artist stands in place merely to guide the evolution of the piece, most of the time it is simply left to play by itself. Brian Eno once likened self generative music to gardening where by the gardener plants the seeds from which growth may come and then stands in place to observe and manage the growth. As in gardening the seeds are planted by tuning the guitars, placing them in the space and adjusting the volume. The system is then left to run its course only interfered with when it runs out of control, as feedback often does.
Air Guitar, Shunt Lounge, London 2009
Air Guitar, Shunt Lounge, London 2009
Air Guitar, Shunt Lounge, London 2009
Air Guitar, Shunt Lounge, London 2009