Pamela Z is an American mixed media artist, mostly known for her performance work, incorporating various forms of extended technique with electronic processing. A work of hers that caught my eye during her talk was her 2011 project ‘Baggage Allowance’:
In her own words, ‘Baggage Allowance’ is based on Ms Z’s experience spending “a substantial portion of my days carting a curious and ever changing collection of objects around the world with me”. It is a mixed media project, combining the separate disciplines of vocal performance art, gallery installation and an interactive website which is sadly no longer accessible due to flash player being taken down. The project’s main theme is the baggage and security checks that one goes through during international travel, and what certain items mean to certain travellers – why do we bring certain items with us every time we travel, and what is their emotional significance to us?
A part of the piece that I found particularly interesting was the use of a gesture-activated MIDI controller, played in a similar way to a theremin, that allowed Ms Z to control different samples throughout the piece – an example of this can be found at time stamp 4:32 in the video linked above. Using one’s own body and movement to create sounds it something really appeals to me and I would like to do this if I get the opportunity to perform some of my art live. Ms Z often uses Max MSP in her live performances, which is a programme I have personally never used but would really like to experiment with as I am interested in live performance and manipulation of sounds. The fact that she has built a whole world around her live performance and technique is really impressive – I’m also very interested in gallery installation work, so finding a way to combine these two disciplines together whilst also having them act as two separate strands of the same project that don’t necessarily need to be viewed together to make the project make sense seems like a clever idea. Perhaps in the future I could make a series of pieces all under the same theme, but communicate each piece through a different medium.
The idea of the installation piece being interactive also appeals to me, as this seems like a good way to make the piece stick in the mind of the viewer. For instance, the “mock x-ray machine that reveals secrets as bags pass through it”, is an interesting, playful concept as it superimposes images on top of the luggage that they have put in the machine. For instance it might show that the viewer has a pistol in their bag, or a small animal. This humorous touch coupled with the idea that each viewer gets a unique image superimposed onto their bag, means that it can be a talking point amongst friends and makes the piece more memorable. Some level of audience interact-ability is definitely something I would like to bring into my piece, as I personally find it much more engaging than simply sitting and observing.
Overall I found this to be an innovative project and there are ideas and inspiration I may take from this talk going forward. I found the technical aspects of the piece particularly engaging, and I hope to start experimenting with Max MSP soon.
References
- Z, P., 2011. Baggage Allowance. [online] Pamelaz.com. Available at: <http://www.pamelaz.com/baggageallowance.html> [Accessed 25 May 2022].
- Z, P., 2011. Pamela Z BAGGAGE ALLOWANCE performance excerpts. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFCrA6_vK5E> [Accessed 25 May 2022].