Abstract
Join us for The Sculptor Speaks, an audio-visual installation by Olivia Louvel based around her re-sounding of a 1961 recording of Barbara Hepworth’s voice.
After finding the recording, originally recorded as an illustrated talk for the British Council, in the British Library, Louvel designed a completely new sound environment for it, applying sculptural principles to manipulate the texture of Hepworth’s voice. Louvel conceives of the sound work as a direct carving into the original material to produce an abstract form.
The sound work is accompanied by projected imagery drawing from Hepworth’s sculptural relationship to the landscape of Cornwall. Emerging from the seascape, a geometric line is being slowly drawn, completing a full meditative cycle.
The Sculptor Speaks was premiered in its first iteration as a stereo audio version on arts broadcast platform Resonance Extra in 2020. The subsequent audio-visual version received an Ivor Novello Award in the Sound Art category at the Ivors Composer Awards 2020.
Louvel’s re-sounding of Hepworth’s voice broadens the experience and understanding of Barbara Hepworth’s legacy through an aural investigation: voice as sonic documentation.
After finding the recording, originally recorded as an illustrated talk for the British Council, in the British Library, Louvel designed a completely new sound environment for it, applying sculptural principles to manipulate the texture of Hepworth’s voice. Louvel conceives of the sound work as a direct carving into the original material to produce an abstract form.
The sound work is accompanied by projected imagery drawing from Hepworth’s sculptural relationship to the landscape of Cornwall. Emerging from the seascape, a geometric line is being slowly drawn, completing a full meditative cycle.
The Sculptor Speaks was premiered in its first iteration as a stereo audio version on arts broadcast platform Resonance Extra in 2020. The subsequent audio-visual version received an Ivor Novello Award in the Sound Art category at the Ivors Composer Awards 2020.
Louvel’s re-sounding of Hepworth’s voice broadens the experience and understanding of Barbara Hepworth’s legacy through an aural investigation: voice as sonic documentation.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 2 Oct 2021 |
| Event | Olivia Louvel: The Sculptor Speaks - The Hepworth Wakefield, Wakefield, United Kingdom Duration: 2 Oct 2021 → 2 Oct 2021 https://hepworthwakefield.org/whats-on/olivia-louvel-the-sculptor-speaks/ |
Keywords
- Barbara Hepworth
- Sound
- Archives
- sound art
- voice
- resounding
- Legacy