Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
"Final Essay: Judy Dunaway"
“Surabaya” (6:07):
Original composition by Kurt Weill (“Surabaya Johnny”). Arranged by Judy Dunaway. Judy Dunaway on balloons as reeds. David Hanson on keyboard (balloon samples).
Joseph Skow
Film 116
11/16/2009
Final Essay
“Judy Dunaway”
Known popularly for her sound work with latex balloons; composer, improviser, and conceptual artist, Judy Dunaway (The “Mother of Balloon Music”), has been using balloons since 1990 as her instrument of choice. Since her first experimentation, Dunaway has composed over thirty works for balloons as instruments. Her approach to working with sound is very Avant-Garde, very experimental. This fascination with “balloon music” is based on the “infinitely complex harmonic overtones,” that can be created from pressure and movement of her hands, on the “taut skin of an inflated latex balloon”(Phillips 2). Quoting one of her album reviews from the modern music magazine, “The Wire”, David Keenan states, "At times it sounds like Charles Gayle blowing over houses or Ornette Coleman on amphetamines fiddling at the Town Hall"(Keenan 5). As harsh as some of her pieces can sound the first time around, there’s no doubt she’s able to create something genius from the most unlikely of sources.
Born in Mississippi (1964), Dunaway went on to study music at the University of New York-Stony Brook, where she graduated with a Ph.D. in Music Composition. She also holds a M.A. in Experimental Music from Wesleyan University, and a B.S. in Music Education from Hunter College. Through her studies, she found herself under the wing of talents such as, analog electronic music composer, Daria Semegen, multimedia artist, Christa Erickson, and composer, Alvin Lucier. Dunaway has since used her diverse education to create a unique sound; influenced by rock, salsa, country, blues, and noise, through the use of balloons, bottlebrushes, vibrators, string quartets, choruses, the Japanese koto, and an assortment of other traditional, and untraditional instruments. Her resulting compositions are often filled with free improvisation and irregular rhythms.
In many cases, her work investigates social activism, or cultural critique; as well as history and politics, with songs themed around monsters, nudity, death, and immigration. For example, some of her work expresses the repression of Brazil’s indigenous rubber farmers, in other pieces, the destruction of the rainforest. This interpretation of sound/song is based on rejecting the traditional scales of Western music, in return, making the balloons “cry”. Reflecting on her work, Dunaway states, "… if anything, it's the Amazon speaking; it's the Earth speaking; it's the Earth screaming; the Earth saying, 'Stop!' So in that sense, I am just a conduit, and I try very much to follow that 'voice'"(Phillips 2). It is through Dunaway’s unique choices in artistic expression that she hopes to help others perceive in unaccustomed ways.
For my sound analysis I chose one of Dunaway’s unreleased balloon tracks titled, “Surabaya” (6:07). This was one of her pieces I was particularly fond of. “Surabaya” is based on an arrangement of Kurt Weill’s original composition, “Surabaya Johnny,” from the musical “Happy End”(1929). The original song tells the story of a woman’s heartache, resulting from her ongoing love for a man, and his betrayal concerning unfulfilled promises of happiness. “Sung by an innocent seduced, and deflowered by an itinerant intercontinental, Mack the Knife…builds into a highly dramatic, deeply felt, and wholly ironic climax, before collapsing into an apathetic and bathetic ballade in its chorus. A hideously beautiful and wonderfully disgusting song…”(Classical Archives 2).
This was one of the very few pieces by Dunaway where the “scratchy,” “harsh,” quality to her work was quickly accepted. It was almost as if the song was originally created for balloons, and at the very least, her arrangement undeniably matches the performance. In 1999 Dunaway recorded balloon samples for her experimental arrangement at the Wesleyan University electronic music studios. David Hanson then performed these samples on keyboard for the final recording, accompanying Dunaway on balloons as reeds.
Dunaway’s recording of “Surabaya” creates the perfect emotional theme, matching its original heartwrenching intentions, with the cries of the live and sampled balloons. For those that are familiar with “Surabaya Johnny,” Dunaway’s arrangement replaces the lyrics, and their otherwise passionate delivery, with an equally, if not more compelling meaning, through pure instrumentation. Specifically the chorus, where the woman pleas, searching for reason in her pain, bleeds through in a way unachievable with a human voice. Dunaway’s sincere consideration of emotion and musical perception transforms “Surabaya Johnny” into its purest form; it’s purest feeling. The sound quality is comparable to that of nails scratching on a chalkboard, and rightfully so. I can’t think of a more perfect sound to match Kurt Weill’s intentions.
Judy Dunaway is currently a Visiting Lecturer in the Critical Studies Department at Massachusetts College of Art. Most recently, she founded a not-for-profit educational webcast for audio art and activism concerning the rights of sex workers called "Sex Workers' Internet Radio Lounge." Through Dunaway’s experimentation, she found success in pushing the boundaries of traditional music, and the ongoing exploration of sound. Of course, the majority of her work is originally straining on the ears, but after thoughtful consideration of her purpose, it quickly turns into a tolerable, intriguing, perception of the world around us.
Bibliography/Work Cited
Magazine
Keenan, David. "Review in Brief of "Balloon Music" CD on CRI ." The Wire: Adventure in Modern Music Nov.-Nov. 1998: 5
Professional Journal
Phillips, Adam. "Avant-Garde Music for Toys, 'Playing' in New York." Voice of America Unlisted (2009): 1-2. VOA News. U.S. Government. 14 Nov. 2009
Internet
Classical Archives. 7 Dec. 2008. All Media Guide, LLC. 14 Nov. 2009
Dunaway, Judy. Judy Dunaway's Myspace Page. 2009 14 Nov. 2009
Dunaway, Judy. Judy Dunaway. 24 Nov. 2008. 14 Nov. 2009
Dunaway, Judy. Judy Dunaway Publications. 24 Nov. 2008. 14 Nov. 2009
Dunaway, Judy. Judy Dunaway Teaching. 24 Nov. 2008. 14 Nov. 2009
Dunaway, Judy. Judy Dunaway Reviews. 24 Nov. 2008. 14 Nov. 2009
Goldsmith, Kenneth. UbuWeb Sound. 24 Nov. 2009. The Center For Literary Computing at West Virginia University. 10 Nov. 2009
Phillips, Adam. U.S.A. N/A. Broadcasting Board of Governors. Voice of America (news). Apr. 2009. U.S. Government. 14 Nov. 2009
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