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Rorschach Audio, Monolith Magazine at The Vibe Bar and Alejandro Jodorowsky

Thanks to everyone who came long to make an absolutely wicked (and very well attended) evening at The Vibe Bar last night, congratulations to Lore Oxford of Monolith and to Cameron Adams for his excellent talk. As for the screening of “The Holy Mountain” by Alejandro Jodorowsky, compare and contrast what page 59 of the “Rorschach Audio” books says about EVP and about ghost-voice research, with the statement Jodorowsky himself makes towards the end of his film – “we came in search of the secret of immortality, to be like Gods, and here we are, mortals, more human than ever… if we have not obtained immortality, at least we have obtained reality… we began in a fairy tale, and we came to life”.

Rorschach Audio at The Vibe Bar for Monolith Magazine

The next “Rorschach Audio” demonstration will be taking place at The Vibe Bar, 91 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL, Tuesday 23rd Oct, 7.30pm sharp, as part of the launch event for the first print edition of Monolith Magazine – anthropologist Dr Cameron Adams will also be speaking about the use of psychedelics in medicine, and these presentations will be followed by a screening of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s astonishing film “The Holy Mountain” (admission free).

Rorschach Audio and the Public Understanding of Science

Here are a bunch of URLs for some very interesting (recent) articles that reference “Rorschach Audio”. The “Beauty Salon” articles provide a particularly well-written summary of the arguments put forward in the early “Rorschach Audio” publications (referencing the article that was published in 2001, but in effect covering the articles from 1999 and 2000 as well), followed by a discussion of the relationship between amateur and professional / institutional science. As regards the second “Beauty Salon” article, one point to add is that the “Rorschach Audio” project understands science as primarily a method, rather than as a professional specialism. As such the 2nd article alludes to a fact that’s not previously been strongly emphasised, which is that “Rorschach Audio” is what’s known as a “public understanding of science” project – albeit one that proceeds from the premise that scientists (and science policy makers) are best able to encourage the public to engage with and become better-informed about science when they themselves become better-informed about the public (he says, with a wink). That’s a subject I hope to discuss in detail in the near future… watch this space.

The “Irish Journal of Gothic & Horror Studies” is a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary electronic publication “dedicated to the exploration of Horror and Gothic literature, film, new media and television” created by Elizabeth McCarthy and Bernice Murphy of Trinity College, Dublin. The “Tape Spectra” article by Brian Baker (of Lancaster University) also references “Rorschach Audio”, mostly in context of discussing films like “Contact”, “Frequency”, “Orphée”, “The Sixth Sense” and “White Noise”; however where the “Rorschach Audio” book argues that “the earliest form of sound recording technology was not a machine but was written language” (page 96), Brian Baker attributes to French semiotician Jacques Derrida the blatantly nonsensical assertion that (assuming Derrida’s been summarised accurately) “writing preceded, and was the condition and ground of speech”. Yeah, right… I see alot of animals leaving each other written notes! Again, watch this space… (Jacques Derrida is also referred to in David Ryan’s Art Monthly review – see below).

http://beautysalonuri.tumblr.com/post/33297630012/evps-as-rorschach-audio

http://beautysalonuri.tumblr.com/post/33359905737/the-ethos-of-sciencey

http://irishgothichorrorjournal.homestead.com/TapeSpectra.html

 

Rorschach Audio book – great review in Art Monthly magazine

The “Rorschach Audio” book receives a full page review (albeit spread over 2 pages) in the latest issue of Art Monthly – “amiable… thoughtful… very intriguing” (Art Monthly, Oct 2012, pages 37 to 38) –

http://www.artmonthly.co.uk/magazine/site/issue/october-2012

http://tinyurl.com/9xezlvo (Liverpool Biennial info)

Also (this note is added Oct 8) a big thanks to everyone who attended the sell-out talks at The ICA and Camp & Furnace (Liverpool), special thanks to event curators Anna Gritz and Nathan Jones, and to fellow speakers Jon Wozencroft, Brandon LaBelle and Dave “How To Wreck a Nice Beach” Tomkins, and thanks to Dave Tomkins I have a new nick-name – Joecoder (as in “Vocoder”).

Rorschach Audio Classics – 草泥馬 (perceptual creativity and the politics of listening)

Closest link is to “Rorschach Audio” book pages 130 to 132

Circuit Bending, but with a much bigger hammer…

Jiggling Atoms -8

Not strictly “Rorschach Audio”, but Strange Attractor and Disinformation will be rockin’ the electrons at 8pm on Weds 3rd Oct, at The Rag Factory, 16 Heneage St, London E1 5LJ – presenting our live, really high-voltage electromagnetic noise performance as part of the Jiggling Atoms exhibition, which runs from 1st to 7th Oct 2012. “Circuit Blasting” is “a bit like Circuit Bending, but with a much bigger hammer”. The CD is available on Adaadat Records. Admission free.

Photo: James English of Bunker, London

Rorschach Audio Classics – भाग डी.के. बोस, आंधी आयी

See “Rorschach Audio” book pages 29 to 31

Rorschach Audio reviews in The TLS, The Quietus & Mojo Magazine + The ICA and Liverpool Biennial talks

The “Rorschach Audio” book has been reviewed in the Times Literary Supplement and by Mojo Magazine – “Engaging… packed with interest” (TLS 5707, page 30), ”Fascinates” (Mojo, Oct 2012, page 110), and a substantial feature’s been posted by The Quietus magazine, which describes the book as “wonderfully argued” (see link below). The other speakers have been confirmed for the event at The ICA on Sept 15 as Brandon LaBelle, Erica MacArthur and Jon Wozencroft, with a discussion chaired by ICA curator Anna Gritz, and for the Blade Factory, Liverpool, 5pm, Oct 6th, the other speaker is “How to Wreck a Nice Beach” author David Tomkins.

http://thequietus.com/articles/09899-joe-banks-disinformation-rorschach-audio

Full ICA details – http://www.ica.org.uk/whats-on/part-ii-acoustic-ambiguities

Full Liverpool details – http://tinyurl.com/c348f5a

Rorschach Audio talks at The ICA & Liverpool Biennial

Rorschach Audio talk at the Liverpool Biennial, 6 Oct 2012, organised by Mercy, and at The ICA, London, 15 Sept 2012 (as part of the closing events for Bruce Nauman’s exhibition “Days”) – click on the highlighted texts for details

Disinformation – “Sound Portrait of Jean Genet”

See “Rorschach Audio” book pages 49, 68, 119, 130, 131 and 138

https://www.flickr.com/photos/disinfo/6152976826/