Blank Screen : Michael Snow, two radio solos

Blank screens : Michael Snow,

two radio solos Canadian artist Michael Snow (born in 1929 in Toronto) began painting in the 1950s before turning to music, sculpture, photography and film. He has been developing an unspecified practice that plays with the autonomy of the medium. « These 2 short-wave pieces are both "played" continuous improvisations. There was no editing, no post-facto electronic alteration. The sounds were found by paying intense attention to fate tuning in and out and between stations, changing bands, bass, treble and volume. The radio played is a circa 1962 Nordmende (pictured). The gradual change in pitch and speed on SHORT WAVELENGTH is an "accident" : batteries were losing power during the recording. The tapes were made at night in a remote North Canadian cabin lit by a kerosene lamp.... » Michael Snow Michael Snow, Short Wavelength, 1980, 39min. 14s. Michael Snow, The Papaya Plantations, 1980, 47min. 12s.