Soundings Gary Hill, 1979

Occasioned by a production grant from WNET Channel 13 New York, I conceived this work for public television, where the loudspeaker serves as ironic subject; it is the host (speaker). The subject is introduced as a kind of abstract objectits physical properties magnified to an extreme. The camera zeros in on a tweeter, and a high, whispery voice enunciates the lines, Mouth stretches like nodes of a tiny instrument vibrating soft experimental kisses. The voice is heard again, sounding the image; imaging the soundforwards and backwards speech coincides with my hands turning and spinning a hanging speaker cone copying the direction of the speech. A short intervening section involves holding two speaker cones face to face, rubbing them and crashing them together like cymbals. The body of the work comprises a series of explorations in which I put sand, nails, fire, water, and electricity directly on the speaker cone.