How Global Change Encourages New Forms Of Sonic Practices:
Today’s civilisations are hyper-aware of the crisis we find ourselves in environmentally. Global warming rates are at the point of emergency; as a result, most of society is choosing to change their daily practice, including artists! Issues behind waste consumption are encouraging artists to change/be more aware of the materials they use. Makoto Oshiro is a Berlin – Tokyo-based performer and artist. He focuses his live work on vibration and interference; more often using recycled everyday materials and attaching them to motors or moving devices in order to sound. Working alongside his performance group ‘The Great △(夏の大△)’ their sonic work makes the simple- effective! Oshiro’s performance work could often be considered sculpture-based artwork; creating huge spectrums of sonic machinery from recycled materials. Aware of the fragility of materials, many artists are beginning to blend their practices. There has become a sense of efficiency and frugality within the sound art world; now we know about the delicacy of sustainability of objects. Oshiro’s work is a great example of how he merges more than one medium of artwork; making recycled junk the primary core of the creative process. I believe artists are beginning to create art with an echo wary conscience. Whereas before artists would focus their production process on sound; making it the primary source- searching for materials specifically suitable towards their sonic needs. This would encourage the overproduction of new materials. However, nowadays artists are looking beyond mass consumption and assessing materials before they chose to create sound. This slows down the rate of production and the creation of extra material in the world and ultimately becomes a more efficient and green way of creative thinking and doing.