www.ica.org.uk/education Talk Show 5 — 31 May 2009 Written by: Nathalie Boobis & Jessica Rayner
www.ica.org.uk/education
Talk Show5— 31 May 2009
Written by:
Nathalie Boobis & Jessica Rayner
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Our dynamic, artist-led Education Programme
provides opportunities for schools, families and
community groups to engage in creative ways with
the ICA’s exhibitions. The gallery is open for school
visits between 10am and 12pm, Monday – Friday.
This pack is geared towards secondary school
students pursuing Key Stages 3, 4 and 5. Teachers
may find it useful to visit the exhibitions before
bringing a group. If you would like to plan a trip to
the ICA, get in touch and find out how we can meet
the needs of your group.
Contact Emma-Jayne Taylor, Director of Learning:
phone: +44 (0)20 7766 1423
email: [email protected]
For more information and to view our archive
of previous learning activities, please visit:
www.ica.org.uk/education
ICA Education Programme:
What We Do:Artist Led Projects: Our programme includes
artist-led workshops with schools and innovative
collaborations between artists and community groups.
Teachers Packs: These are available with each
exhibition and include exhibition notes, suggested
discussion points and activities for your visit, how to
prepare before attending the exhibition and proposed
activities for the classroom.
Insets: The ICA offers professional development
sessions for teachers as an opportunity to meet with
artists and gallery staff, and discuss how best to
incorporate contemporary art into young people’s
education.
Schools Mailing List: Keep up to date with the
exciting education projects, events and workshops
happening at the ICA by signing up for our mailing list.
Teachers Previews: These private views are
dedicated to education resources and offer ideas for
your pupils’ visit to the ICA. Come as a teacher or as
yourself to enjoy a relaxing evening in the gallery.
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Exhibition Concept:Talk Show is a month-long season of artworks and live events addressing that central feature of human life — the act of speech.
The programme, most of which is free, will activate the ICA during both daytime
and evening, and is being presented in the institute’s Galleries, Theatre and other
spaces. It features over a hundred participants, including artists, performers and
others whose activities centre on speech and vocal performance, such as linguists,
speech therapists and voiceover artists. This chorus will address the primacy of
the spoken word in our social and cultural landscape, and its use as a tool to
produce and negotiate meaning in art, life and politics.
Many contemporary artists employ the voice as a medium, and Talk Show
includes an exhibition of speech-based works in the Lower Gallery and other
spaces. Meanwhile, the Upper Gallery is being used as a location for a series of
artists’ residencies, events that are open to the public and in which participants
will research, rehearse and produce new work. The Lower Gallery and Theatre
will also host performances and presentations by artists, musicians and others, a
programme that promises an array of extraordinary experiences. Further events
include workshops for training the voice, discussions on different aspects of
language, and a conference that will call on the newest thinking in the science and
sociology of speech.
Talk Show is an experiment in inter-disciplinary programming, and has been
curated by the artist, writer and designer Will Holder, working together with
Richard Birkett and Jennifer Thatcher of the ICA, and with the help and
support of The London Consortium (a multi-disciplinary graduate programme in
humanities and cultural studies). A wide range of resources are linked to the
season, including a magazine containing a variety of new and reprinted texts.
Many of the events will be streamed on the ICA website, as well as by other
broadcasters. Finally, the ICA’s new Reading Room is presenting a number of
archives of spoken word recordings, allowing visitors to pursue their own research. Diagram [love songs], 1994, from Diagrams, Ricardo Basbaum
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ExhibitionThe Talk Show exhibition is staged across a number of spaces and platforms, and
operates around and amongst the events and residencies that occur throughout
the month. It features artworks that investigate the expression of language through
the sound of the voice, or in some cases through its absence. In the Lower Gallery
and Concourse there are works by Pierre Bismuth, Ryan Gander, Beatrice Gibson
with Jamie McCarthy, Adam Pendleton, Falke Pisano, Seth Price, Manuel Saiz
and Frances Stark; the Reading Room includes a work by Mark Wilsher; while
the Upper Gallery will feature, in turn, works by Robert Ashley and Robert Filliou.
Residenciescastillo/corrales, Melanie Gilligan, Fia Backström, Stella Capes and Plus Minus
Ensemble are all in residence at the ICA during May, developing projects in
which production is publicly framed, and in which discussion, presentation and
scripting become part of the production process. Within the varying approaches
of these artists there is a sense of an imminent product, and of the transposition
of knowledge and language into object.
Performances & PresentationsThe Talk Show programme features a wide range of performances and presenta-
tions. Those originated by Robert Ashley, Chris Mann, Ann-James Chaton and
Andy Moor, Alex Waterman and Joan La Barbara exemplify a mode of vocal
experimentation with links to Dada and Fluxus. Performed speech as physical
form, and as politicised gesture, is explored further in events by Jeremiah Day
and Simone Forti, Sharon Hayes, Jimmy Robert and Ian White, Dexter Sinister
and Stephen Sutcliffe. Talk Show also addresses the relationship between the aural
and the audience, within events organised by Terry Smith and School of Sound.
Workshops & DiscussionsThe Talk Show programme features workshops on public speaking, political
chants and the social nuances of speech choices, as well as discussions on sign
language and the notion of doublespeak. These events draw on sociological and
neurological research, as well as personal testimony, and explore how and why
our voices can obtain weight as personal or public tools. Excerpt from Malcolm Goldstein, Illuminations from Fantastic Gardens, 1974 (for vocal ensemble)
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Themes
Words in Art
Speech and Production
Themes
Speaking and Listening
Use Your Voice!
Suggested Activity
Using your current fictional text from your English
class, pick a page and randomly choose fifteen words.
With these words construct a poem. The poem does
not have to make sense. Create a visual piece about
the poem, using the words within the art work.
Work in pairs. Each choosing a piece of art (this can
be from a current exhibition or one you know in
particular). Write about the characteristics of the
piece (do not mention the artist or the title) then
swap over what you have written and each make a
piece in response to the piece of writing. You can use
any medium.
Suggested Activity
Using a sound recording device, choose a word and
repeat it over and over for 3 minutes. Play with the
speed and volume of the recording device. Do you
think the meaning of the word is altered when it is
repeated? Try doing this activity as a performance,
without using a device, just by repeating a word and
playing with speed and volume.
Dubbing: Work in pairs. Think of a subject you have
both been studying in one of your lessons. Choose a
5 minute scene from a film involving two characters.
Turn the sound off for the duration of the scene and
speak over the parts of each of the characters into a
recording device, creating your own spontaneous
script based on the chosen subject matter but trying
to match up your words in time with theirs. Play both
film and sound recording together.
Themes and Activities: Key Stage 3
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Themes
Words in Art
Speech and Production
Themes
Speaking and Listening
Use Your Voice!
Suggested Activity
Working in pairs, sit back to back with a sketch book
or paper drawing board each. The person who starts
must draw a picture whilst describing the picture to
their partner so they can draw it too. On each part of
the drawing, both students should write the
instruction; e.g. if person 1 says ‘draw a road’, both
students will draw a road and also write ‘draw a
road’. When finished, compare the drawings. Think
about how person 1’s instructions were interpreted
by person 2. Were they very different or similar?
Display the pictures side by side.
Sourcing ideas from your current course work brief,
document all your ideas, research and drawings/art
work that go towards finalising your ideas. Give
yourself a time scale to work towards (example
4weeks), when it comes to presenting your final
work, present all the documentation as well. The
documentation will be a piece of art in its own right.
Suggested Activity
Using onomatopoeic words to create a video art piece
with you acting out the meaning of the word. You can
be saying the word repeatedly. For example, the word
‘murmur’ think about how you would demonstrate the
meaning of the word, how you would say it, act it etc.
Dubbing: Work in pairs. Think of a subject matter
which you both know a lot about. Choose a 5 minute
scene from a foreign film involving two characters.
Turn the sound off for the duration of the scene and
speak over the parts of each of the characters into a
recording device, creating your own spontaneous
script based on the chosen subject matter but trying
to match up your words in time with theirs. Play
both film and sound recording together.
Karaoke: Work in pairs. Record a three minute
conversation (you can do this by hand), then choosing
a famous duet/song, sing the words from the
conversation in place of the lyrics. Think about how
the meaning of both song and what was written are
changed and how they work in relation to each other.
Themes and Activities: Key Stage 4
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Themes
Words in Art
Speech and Production
Themes
Speaking and Listening
Use Your Voice!
Suggested Activity
Sourcing ideas from you current course-work, write
on an A4 side of paper about a piece of work you are
planning to make. Discuss how it would be made and
in great detail what the finished piece will look like.
Mount or frame the piece of writing and hang it on
the wall.
Using your current coursework and a partner, start
to talk about all your ideas relating to your work to
your partner. Document all of your conversations
and, when the work is finished, try and map out what
elements of your ideas and work developed through
your documented conversations. Include the map
and the conversations in your final documentation
Suggested Activity
Create a video art piece: think of a noun, a verb and
an adjective word and film yourself repeating them
one after the other, for example, apple apple apple
apple apple, fast fast fast… until you can no longer say
them succinctly. Whilst repeating the words out load,
act out the meaning of the words (you may use props).
Dubbing: Choose a political figure from any time
period. Find footage of that person. Turn the sound
off for the duration of the scene and speak over that
the parts substituting their words for own. Think
about what you would like to say if you where in their
position; would your speech have a different angle?
Speak into a recording device, trying to match up
your words in time with theirs. Play both film and
sound recording together.
Karaoke: Looking at the artists involved with Talk
Show, find a review/ statement written about/ by the
artist. Choosing a famous song, sing the words from
the statement in place of the lyrics. Think about how
the meaning of both song and statement are changed
and how they work in relation to each other.
Themes and Activities: Key Stage 5
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1. Exhibition: Words in Art
Conceptual art is a term that came into use in the late 1960s. Conceptual artists
emphasized concepts, or ideas, over visual form; questioning what defined a work
of art. Language played a central role in this with artists such as Joseph Kosuth,
Sol Le Witt and John Baldessari exploring and questioning long-held
assumptions about what defined a work of art. In emphasizing ideas over visual
forms, they gave language a central role in their work.
Access to portable video equipment really opened up the possibilities for artists
working in the late 60s. They were able to record performances and experiment
with sound, language and rhythms of text. Further advancements in audio-visual
technology contributed to the development of the video and audio installation as
an art-form which helped to bring speech and the voice into a gallery setting.
QUESTIONS:• Do you think a conceptual art piece should look good?
• Look at the picture of Marcel Duchamp’s piece, ‘Fountain’. What makes this
urinal a work of art and others just a urinal? Think about ‘readymades’
and the role of the idea or concept behind a work of art.
FACTS AND FIGURES:This term came into use in the late 1960s to describe a wide range of types of art
that no longer took the form of a conventional art object. In 1973 a pioneering
record of the early years of the movement appeared in the form of a book, Six
Years, by the American critic Lucy Lippard. The ‘six years’ were 1966–72. The
long subtitle of the book referred to ‘so-called conceptual or information or idea
art’.Conceptual artists do not set out to make a painting or a sculpture and then
fit their ideas to that existing form. Instead they think beyond the limits of those
traditional media, and then work out their concept or idea in whatever
materials and whatever form is appropriate.
KEYWORDS:Concept / Idea / Readymade / Form / Medium / Skill / Workmanship / The White Cube / Installation / Text / Language
USEFUL LINKS AND RESOURCES:• http://www.altx.com/vizarts/conceptual.html
(Sentences on Conceptual Art by Sol Lewitt)
• http://www.baldessari.org/ (John Baldessari’s website)
• http://www.e-flux.com/projects/do_it/manuals/0_manual.html (Joseph Kosuth’s work, ‘One and Three Chairs’, 1965)
• http://www.ubuweb.com
(for a wealth of essays, videos, texts and audio works)
• http://www.luxonline.org.uk
(great educational resource on British film & video art)
Fountain, signed ‘R. Mutt 1917’, by Marcel Duchamp
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2. Residencies: Speech & Production
Speech is a vehicle that drives the production, sharing and negotiation of
knowledge. Every art work in existence is surrounded by words: Before an art
work is even conceived, the artist would have talked or written around the idea of
it. Thoughts, conversations and writings would have crystallized the idea; words
would have described how it was to be made, or shown. Conversations would
have taken place with gallery owners, curators and technicians about its
installation. People would have come to see it and spoken, thought or written
about it. Therefore, speaking about something could almost be synonymous with
producing something.
QUESTIONS:• What role do conversations with your friends and teachers play in helping you
to realize your ideas?
• Do you think these conversations are important to your work?
FACTS AND FIGURES:Many artists throughout history have employed assistants to carry out their
instructions in the production of their work. Andy Warhol famously had his
Factory and nowadays, Damian Hirst does the same thing within his company,
Science Ltd, although many think that this is highly controversial however,
it is still the artists’ instructions that lead to the creation of the work.
KEYWORDS:Production / Speech / Conversations / Words / Thoughts / Process / Galleries / Curators / Factory / Assembly line / Assistants / Instructions
USEFUL LINKS AND RESOURCES:• http://www.ica.org.uk/19467.twl
(There is a wealth of material on the ICA website pertaining to the
Talk Show exhibition) Stella Capes, The Performance, 2007, Still from video
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3. Performances & Presentations:
Speaking and Listening
When Dadaist Hugo Ball premiered his first abstract phonetic poem, ‘O Gadji
Beri Bimba’, in 1917, the audience fell about laughing. Wondering how he could
“remain serious” and in order to keep going above the laughter, he: “began to
chant [my] vowel sequences like a recitative, in liturgical style, and tried not only
to keep a straight face but to [compel myself to] be in earnest.” (Hugo Ball)
During the first public appearance of Dada in Paris, Tristan Tzara read out a
newspaper article to the accompaniment of clangings, tinklings and other noises.
On the 5th Febrauary, 1920, in the Salon des Independants, thirty-eight speakers
read Dada manifestos which were chanted like psalms.
The Dadaists were keen to break down formal language; they were keen that not
only the sounds were thought to be poetry but also the breaths. The human act of
speech was turned into performances that shook up the audience from being
passive observers into being actively part of what was going on.
QUESTIONS:• Contemplate your role as an audience in the following circumstances: listening
to a story told by someone familiar, being told off in the classroom, going to
the theatre, and hearing people preach in the street. How do you feel and
respond to these different situations?
• Imagine you’re the performer or speaker in the above situations.
What difference would the presence or lack of an audience make to you?
KEYWORDS:Speech / Language / Tone / Audience / Platform / Speaker / Volume / Performance / Voice / Information / Concept
USEFUL LINKS AND RESOURCES:• http://www.schoolofsound.co.uk/
• http://www.castillocorrales.fr/galerie/index.php/Currently
• http://www.frieze.com/issue/review/jimmy_robert_and_ian_white/
• http://www.dexter-sinister.com/
• http://www.seeingwithsound.com/winvoice.htm
Sharon Hayes, Everything Else Has Failed! Don’t You this It’s Time for Love?, 2007
New York City Documentation of performance. Photo: Andrea Geyer
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4. Workshops: Use Your Voice!
Your voice is an extremely powerful tool that extends beyond necessary
communication. Think about how politicians and public speakers use rhetoric to
convince you of what they are saying. As the Dadaists were exploring in their
performances of abstract poetry, your voice can be more than just the speaking of
words. Your voice is both the sounds you can make, from screams to laughter, to
gurgles and squeaks; and the way you express yourself. People that use sign
language to speak still have a ‘voice’, even though their communication is silent.
Eastern communication reads much more into body language and the silences
between words to understand what someone is saying. Think about what it
means to have a voice, and what it means if you don’t.
QUESTIONS:• Does someone’s voice (think about accent, tone, volume etc) make a difference
to how you perceive them? Why? Do you think this is right?
• Think about your teachers and how they speak to you in the classroom.
Do you imagine that they use the same voice outside school? Why?
Why do you think it’s important that people use different tones of voice for
different situations?
KEYWORDS:Abstraction / Participation / Activity / Voice / Communication / Sound / Culture / Collective / Temporary
USEFUL LINKS AND RESOURCES:• http://resonancefm.com/
• http://www.speakingcircles.com/
• http://www.stammering.org/adther_citylit.html
• http://www.myspace.com/jonnymichaelrobinson
Robert Ashley, Perfect Lives, 1984, still from video
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Upcoming Events:Lower gaLLerygaLLeries, concourse
and reading roomdate in
may upper gaLLery theatre cinema 2
fri 8
fri 15
fri 22
fri 29
mon 11
mon 18
mon 25
wed 6
wed 13
wed 20
wed 27
sat 9
sat 16
sat 23
sat 30
tue 12
tue 19
tue 26
thu 7
thu 14
thu 21
thu 28
sun 10
sun 17
sun 24
sun 31
residency: castillo/corrales (6–17 may)
residency: melanie GilliGan (18–25 may)
residency:stella capes (24–26 may)
residency: fia Backström (25–31 may)
workshop: effective speaking in groups (3pm)
presentation: dexter sinister (7pm)
performance: plus minus ensemble (7pm)
residency: plus minus ensemBle (26–30 may)
performance: Joan La Barbara (4pm)
performance: robert ashley (7pm)
exhiBition: various participants (6–31 may)
performance: Jeremiah day / simone Forti (7pm)
presentation: speakeasy (12–7.30pm)
workshop: they give themselves away… (3pm)
discussion: the Vocal Knot (7pm)
presentation: stephen sutcliffe (7pm)
workshop: Latin american political chants (3pm)
workshop: they give themselves away… (3pm)
discussion: doublespeak (3pm)
presentation: speakeasy (12–7.30pm)
performance: Jimmy robert and ian white (7pm)
performance: school of sound (7pm)
performance: ann-James chaton and andy moor / chris mann /alex waterman (7pm)
conference: our speaking selves (2–7pm)
Film: the shout (2pm)
Film: my dinner with andre (2pm)
Film: the aristocrats (2pm)
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People to look at:Robert AshleyFia BackströmPierre BismuthBen CainProfessor Deborah CameronStella CapesLeandro CardosoAnne-James Chaton
and Andy MoorSteven Connorcastillo/corralesJeremiah DayPaul EllimanChris EvansRachel Everard
and Carolyn CheasmanRobert FilliouSimone FortiWilliam Furlong’s Audio ArtsRyan GanderBeatrice Gibson
with Jamie McCarthyMelanie GilliganSharon HayesAnne Karpf
Eve KarpfJoan La BarbaraChris MannAdam PendletonFalke PisanoOliver PouliotSeth PricePlus Minus EnsembleJonathan RéeJulian Rhind-TuttJonnie RobinsonProfessor Sophie ScottDexter SinisterFrances StarkLouise SternStephen SutcliffeManuel SaizSchool of SoundTerry SmithThe ThreadAlex WatermanIan White and Jimmy RobertMark WilsherDr Laura Wright
Your Contribution:In the true spirit of collaboration we would like to ask teachers to email any
further suggestions for discussions or activities on the topic of Talk Show to: