Song Without Words

Artist

Olivia Ting

Year

2023

Materials

Multi-channel installation with hanging voile fabric, modified vintage radios

Project description

Audio technical support by Luke Dzwonczyk

Haptics designed by Lloyd May

Music conducting by Wei Cheng

ASL signing by Zahna Simon

Audio description by Social Audio Description Collective, written & narrated by Oliver Baker

An immersive multi-channel projection, Song Without Words renders the gestural continuities between piano, musical conducting and sign language to redefine the phenomenological experience of listening. Inspired by Beethoven’s ‘Choral’ Symphony No. 9, which he composed when he was deaf, Ting’s work comprises three movements (allegro, scherzo, rondo) that layer visual and audio compositions like notes in a chord. Projected on translucent panels arrayed as hanging fragments, the videos signal an environment of splintered audial and visual cues that Deaf and hard of hearing individuals inhabit daily. 

Each movement contemplates the technical and ability scripts of Ting’s performances as a pianist, conductor, signer, and listener. Referencing the vibroacoustic method that Helen Keller employed to listen to music, vintage radios introduce a haptic translation of the fourth and final movement of “Ode to Joy” from Symphony No. 9. The installation animates sound as movement, inviting gallery visitors to participate in and reflect on these choreographies and soundscapes. The instruments we listen to and with—from our fingertips to our assistive listening devices—share a special kinship.

Instructions

Pick up a set of the bluetooth headphones to experience the audio track and replace them when you’re done. Each movement corresponds to a section of the installation of hanging fabric: the first nearest to the gallery entrance and the headphone stands, and the third nearest to the back of the gallery. The short films play on a consecutive loop of 12 minutes and will restart at the beginning of the first movement (titled Allegro, 1st movement). Please touch the vintage radios to experience the vibrations of the third movement.

Please note that some of the sounds in this installation may be loud or jarring.  

Documentation

Projected in white onto translucent black fabric, letters flow into a smoke like array.
Projected in white onto translucent black fabric, a spray of letters pattern the blurry image of a piano player.
Projected in white onto translucent black fabric, the words “Beethoven listened with his teeth” are written against a blurry image of a piano.
Full shot of song without words, multiple hanging fabric with projections aimed at them variously. In the back are two vintage radios. In the front are three headphones on a table.
Two wooden vintage radios on white pedestals. The one in the background stands vertical, the one in the foreground is wide with three knobs.
Vintage radios emitting haptic vibrations in Olivia Ting’s Song Without Words 
Two flow charts, on the left vertical, is Sorting It Out. On the right is Lip Reading.

Song Without Words

The following media is presented as a YouTube player embedded in Able Player.

Song Without Words, Audio Described

The following media is presented as a YouTube player embedded in Able Player.

Sorting it Out and Lip Reading

Olivia Ting

Sorting it Out, 2023

Lip Reading, 2023

Prints on gatorboard

As schemas of the complex, rapid-fire set of decisions the artist makes to decipher oral communication, these tongue-in-cheek flowcharts render listening as a visual process that activates forking paths of meaning.

Sorting it Out

Sorting It Out flow chart. Longer description linked below.
This is the first in a series of choose-your-own adventure flowcharts that satirically represents audiovisual strategies of listening from the perspective of a deaf person. It tracks the feedback loops of sense and meaning-making; how, at times, outrageous, self-deprecating, or embarrassing strategies are required to understand speakers. Please note this flowchart is sprawling; there are multiple permutations of possible scenarios.

For a more detailed visual description, please refer to Access/Song Without Words.

Lip Reading

Lip Reading flow chart. Longer description linked below.
This is the second in a series of choose-your-own adventure flowcharts that pokes fun at the complex schema and strategies required to decipher spoken language through lip reading. It tracks the circuitous, obstructed, lateral, and sometimes comical pathways to understanding. Please note there are multiple permutations of possible scenarios: no one path is the same. 

For a more detailed visual description, please refer to Access/Song Without Words.

Artist interview

Artist interview transcript

Access/Song Without Words