Michel Archambault Sound Installations from 1983 to 1988

ARCHAMBAULT sound installations

archambault michel 1983_1988

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sound installations

archambault michel 1983_1988

FUZEI © MICHEL ARCHAMBAULT 1983

FUZEI © MICHEL ARCHAMBAULT 1983

FUZEI © MICHEL ARCHAMBAULT 1983

FUZEÏ : It is difficult to render the full meaning of the Japanese ideogram Fuzeï, which conjures up notions of appearance, look and impression. A component of ideogram is the character “Shin”, which signifies heart, as well as soul, thought and mind. Thus, “to express Fuzei” could be translated as “ to give an impression while arousing feelings”. Fuzeï brings visual elements into play with electroacoustic music composed by Michel Tétreault. Archambault chose stone as the basic material for the installation - but rough stone that had not been treated or altered in any way. It is presented in its natural state, as Archambault found it. The influence of the Japanese garden can be seen in the small number of elements used in the installation and in the simplicity of their presentation. Fuzeï defines a sculptural space whose lines of force are represented by two wooden platforms.

The sounds were chosen to correspond to the minimalist nature of the work; they are of varying density, light (high frequency), rather soft, and suggest ease of movement through space. They are reproduced through small speakers placed throughout the installation. The sense of sound mobility is created by the two levels of sound reproduction (high and nor-mal frequency) and the small speakers placed throughout the installation. As viewers move around the installation, their listening angles change, and so it is up to them to recreate the work using their imagination. The sound spatialization, i.e. the distribution of the sounds in space, was programmed when the tapes were mixed. Musically, the work consists of six parts of different lengths. Each part explores a specific musical theme, part overlapping. Total playing time is 24 minutes.

Presented at IDEAS IN MOTION in 1983 organized jointly by Michel Archambault and Pierre E. Leclerc at Concordia University in Montréal and at Gallery 76 at the Ontario College of Art.

FUZEÏ 1983Sound installation (detail)Collaboration Michel Tétreault, Electro-Acoustic ComposerEarth, Grass, Light Bulbs, Porcelain Electric Light Sockets, Minerals, Sound System Components, Steel and Wooden platforms. 4,26 x 4,26 x 10.3m

MUSICWORKS 39 THE CANADIAN JOURNAL OF SOUND EXPLORATION_fall 1987

MUSICWORKS 39 THE CANADIAN JOURNAL OF SOUND EXPLORATION_fall 1987

TAYORI © MICHEL ARCHAMBAULT 1984

TAYORI : In Tayori, I wanted to bring water and earth together. Tayori means virtuality of landscape, but what inspired me was not a landscape or a picture, but the material itself. I opted for the contemplative approach - preserve what is essential, and bring the viewer to a reflective, meditative state. Water and earth are associated with the initial state of our planet, I have sought to highlight the characteristics, the identifying features of these two elements. The visual component of the installation is static, giving an impression of immobility, trans-formation, and movement, are to be found in the musical component. While earth and water are typical of the Zen garden, the presence of steel attests of the society to wich I belong. It is a material that is affected by the passage of time : it wears, oxidizes, rusts and eventually dies. Steel is ephemeral in relation to the perennial nature of water and earth. Four mounds of earth are set out in a steel tank filled with water. The earth is shaped into cones to symbol-ize mountains - as well as islands, since they are surrounded by water. The cone shape of the mounds is affected by erosion, which gradually transforms the island-mountains. Erosion is a phenomenon which bears witness to the passage of time. But the two materials are not in direct contact. The mounds are set on steel cubes, and the cubes are set out in the tank of water, intended to illustrate the intervention of man in nature. The musical concept on contrast with the visual component, wanting his music to be kinetic, formally asymmetrical, music which used ´organic` sounds, or sounds which, without being purely trivial, conjure up sound as it is experienced in our culture. The sound space is shaped by the distribution of the loudspeakers.

TAYORI © MICHEL ARCHAMBAULT 1984

TAYORI © MICHEL ARCHAMBAULT 1984

The four-part reproduction is achieved in the following manner; one part for the bass speak-ers; two parts for the intermediate range (left-right), reproduced by small 5cm speakers mounted on poles; the fourth part, the treble, is reproduced by piezoelectric transducers placed at the four corners of the tank. Their acoustic characteristics partly conditioned the choice of sounds, but their size meant that they could easily be spread out, thus helping to achieve the kinetic quality the composer was seeking. Another of his concern was to integrate the listener into the installation. The bass speakers inside the platform makes the platform structure vibrate through physical contact. The listener feels this vibration. Direct, tactile contact is thus established between the musical element, the visual element, and the listener--viewer. The work consists of seven parts of unequal lengths. The parts are sepa-rated from each other by periods of silence; these periods are likewise of unequal length. Total playing time is 24 minutes.

Presented at the INTERFACE I Event in Montréal (1984) organized jointly by Michel Archambault and Pierre E. Leclerc.

TAYORI 1984 Collaborative work with Michel Tétreault, Electro-Acoustic ComposerSound installation, Earth, Lighting System, Minerals, Sound System Components, Steel, Water and Wood.

CRUX © MICHEL ARCHAMBAULT1987

COLLECTIVE EXHIBITION AT THE RAFFINERIE DU PLAN K CENTER, BRUSSELS, BELGIUM 1987 June 9th - July 15 1987 organized jointly by Michel Archambault, Josée Bernard and Pierre E. Leclerc.

CRUX Sound Installation on 2 Levels (partial view) Music Collaborator : Michel Tétreault, Electro-Acoustic ComposerAluminium, Charcoal, Gypsum, Sound Components, Wood. Musical Soundtrack 11min. 15s.

The artists sought their inspiration in the celestial, the sacred. They worked on the concept of the monument, the cathedral, selecting forms which recalled stelae, crosses and other allusions from religious architecture. But they chose to use mod-ern North American materials; gypsum, wood and plaster instead of granite, marble and broze of traditional monuments. However, coal, a symbol of daily life in Belgium was used, through an unusual fashion, being presented as an offering. From a strictly sculptural viewpoint, its presence added texture, colour and brilliance to the installation.

Very simple charcoal drawings on the walls brought the various spaces of the installation in motion and linked them together, as well as serving as clues (like hieroglyphics, runes or sacred signs) on the ‘‘initiatory’’ path, since CRUX was spread over two floors.

The 6m high space had large coorugated-fibreglass windows. The visual elements of the installation were therefore arranged to take adantage as much as possible of the natural light. Thus, the atmosphere of the installation varied with changes in specific luminosity at different times of the day. The empty shapes, especially the large cruciform structure, created special effects against the light, adding an interplay of shade and relief to the installation. The visual materials used three 1.5 m diameter aluminium dishes, wood, plaster, wire, coal and charcoal. Bare, unmounted speakers were suspended from wires. While their specific distribution throughout the installation was primarly for acoustic reasons, they were also intended to symbolize light being an allusion to church votive lights. The composition uses sample extracts of orchestral works. The special ‘‘texture’’ of orchestral instruments is more effective in creating the atmosphere of a cathedral. These samples were then processed and mixed with extracts from Fuzei and Tayori (the artists’s two previous installations) and with synthesized sounds using a MIDI system.

The specific sound reproduction system used for CRUX, two continuous-play stereo cassette recorders, was a major factor in selecting the various sound elements. The basic units lasts 11 min, 15 s, and the musical material is spread over two cassettes. As the tapes are played, a mechanical shift in phase occurs, so that the different sections of the work ‘‘slide into’’ one another. The four-part sound reproduction corresponds to the four bare , unmounted speakers hidden in the stelae add to the richness of the acoustic space.

CRUX © MICHEL ARCHAMBAULT1987

COLLECTIVE EXHIBITION AT THE RAFFINERIE DU PLAN K CENTER, BRUSSELS, BELGIUM 1987 June 9th - July 15 1987 organized jointly by Michel Archambault, Josée Bernard and Pierre E. Leclerc.

CRUX Sound Installation on 2 Levels (partial view) Music Collaborator : Michel Tétreault, Electro-Acoustic ComposerAluminium, Charcoal, Gypsum, Sound Components, Wood. Musical Soundtrack 11min. 15s.

THINKING OBJECT © MICHEL ARCHAMBAULT 1988

THINKING OBJECT 1988Study for Electro-Acoustic Sound SculptureMaple, Sound Components. 182 X 43 X 76cm

COLLECTIVE EXHIBITION AT THE ESPACE GALLERY, MONTREAL 1988Music Collaborator : Michel Tétreault, Electro-Acoustic ComposerFramed Sound_Sound Components, Wood. 38 x 76cm

FRAMED SOUND © MICHEL ARCHAMBAULT 1988

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