Futures of Listening: An Interim Report of an Art-Research Project

Futures of Listening: An Interim Report of an Art-Research Project
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This is a past event

Join Professor Suk-Jun Kim (University of Aberdeen) to explore their recent research into the future of listening.

Abstract: During my research leave in 2023, I have collaborated with Asia Culture Center’s ACC Sound Lab 2023 as research lead for a small team of Korean sound and visual artists to start off an ambitious art-research project (an open-ended, curiosity-driven project where a series of questions are formed, examined, explored, and possibly answered through artistic methods (or attitudes)) under the title of Futures of Listening. It starts with a simple question: after ten to 20 years from now, what is going to happen to the ways we listen? Trying to answer it, we may see that this seemingly innocuous, and perhaps naive, question can pose yet many more questions. In this talk, I will make attempts in examining three components (or things) within the question that both confound, and at the same time, delight us. The first two are shown clearly in the question: listen(-ing) and futures, and the other is strangely hidden: sound. More than anything else, the question is based on a premise that listening is not a pure act; rather, it is a platform where various forces or agencies struggle, intentionally or not, to gain control of what is to be heard and how and for whom it is to be heard. For this last one, for whom, I will pose and make some arguments for a somewhat unfamiliar concept, a porous self. Finally, I will discuss four sub-themes of Futures of Listening and some of the preliminary outcomes from Phase 1 of this project and its possible futures.

A Korean Composer and sound artist, Suk-Jun Kim has his music published by ICMC, IMEB, and SEAMUS, and M&R.Kim has published two books, "Humming" by Bloomsbury and "Hasla" by Kehrer Verlag Heidelberg. His humming project has produced a solo CD titled "Humming" in 2019. His research also focuses on sound studies, immersive sound, phenomenological approaches to the aesthetics of electroacoustic music, space and place among others. Kim is professor of Electroacoustic Music and Sound Art at the University of Aberdeen.

Speaker
Professor Suk-Jun Kim
Venue
MacRobert Building MR028 (and via Teams)
Contact

For further information or to receive the Microsoft Teams link for this event, please contact Christina Ballico.