Marclay’s ‘prepared’ records included vinyl recordings doused with splatters of paint. The pieces are an exploration of the twentieth century preoccupation with well defined media and it’s seamlessness.
the use of destruction in Marclay’s work yeilds both an inherent unpredictability and a lack of controllability. By painting directly onto found records, Marclay’s unconventional engagement with recorded sound sparks a ‘happy accident’ and unlocks the creative potential of random sound.
This kind of ‘breaking the flow of media’ action is something I want to demonstrate in my work. My work so far is more narrative than it is pertaining to a statement. In my video experiments I am trying to tell a story but I want to put a neo-fluxus spin on it by taking apart modern day media.
Perhaps next I will play with samples of sound and try out some of the methods that Paik and Marclay played, whilst thinking about how to make this a current statement.
Sam Whitaker 