The article I chose was "The Art of Noises" by Luigi Russolo. I chose this article because I found the idea of the world which surrounds us being completly filled with different noises, fascinating. Everywhere a person is, there is a different sound which is occurring. We hear various sounds in different places. These sounds is what makes up the world in which we live. This is the beauty which is a part of nature. People tend to take this idea for granted. Russolo states, "If we overlook such exceptional movements as earthquakes, hurricanes, storms, avalanches, and waterfalls, nature is silent." The fact that nature is so diverse in the sounds it gives is amazing. What would nature be without these noises? Silence.
One of Russolo's main points is by man's experimentation with sounds came the birth of music. Humanity began to delve more into sounds and began playing music as time progressed. The Greeks discovered the world of harmony. Russolo also claims that music has evolved over time. He says, "The ear of an eighteenth century man could never have endured the discordant intensity of certain chords produced by our orchestras (whose members have trebled in numbers since then). To our ears on the other hand, they sound pleasant, since our hearing has already been educated by modern life, so teeming with variegated noises." Music became more complex and became composed of complicated dissonant chords. Humans began to want to hear something different. Russolo strongly emphasizes the power of sound in this piece. He states, "The noise, therefore, is familiar to our ear, and has the power to conjure up life in itself". Noise is a substantial part of our lives. It is all around us. It has become a familiar entity to us. Yet there is also a mystery behind it. Sound never really reveals itself to us. It has surprises in store for us. For this reason, people desire to dominate noise so that we will be adorned with an exciting pleasure.
The ideas contained in this article are relevant to my practice as a media artist. By knowing that sound is an important aspect of life and has an effect on people, I can put emphasis on sound in my projects. Further, I can create films with excellent sound quality to have the audience enjoy the film and influence them. There can be soundtracks in my work. These ideas will give my projects a different feel as opposed to not exerting as much effort into putting quality sound in my work. Sound affects people emotionally and I may be able to stir my audience to an emotional degree. With stimulating music playing in the background of one of my films, people can be motivated. These thoughts are what I can put into practice as a media artist.
