Material Works was a draft of an idea—sort of a way to imagine new works of art by repurposing audio recordings describing those which already exist. This was back in 2009 and I was starting to think about generative art; future AIs rendering works, etc. I noticed that MoMA had audio recordings of many works from their collection up on their website for the benefit of the visually impaired, and at the time the mp3s were freely downloadable. Because the narrators speak in a clear, deliberate tone and at a slower pace, the files are very easy to chop up and paste back together as you’d like. Two examples:
I like these little projects because they are free to make and allow new works to exist without actually using much in the way of physical resources. I do consider the final audio pieces to be sculptures / installations of sorts. Here’d a demo I made with Audacity, which is free.
Where to Find Source Audio:
I last checked (12/16/19) and it seems the descriptions for many works are still online via MoMA’s site. The player itself no longer allows for a fast right-click style download but if you just open up the page source they are pretty easy to find. If you have no idea what that means, it’s not complicated. In Chrome click View / Developer / View Source. In the new tab that pops up, just search for “mp3” and you should find a link you can right-click on to save the audio. I haven’t checked other major arts institutions but I bet a lot are out there.
Rights & Usage
The original audio here is the property of MoMA. I am making a modest Fair Use claim given the following. First, the resulting works have no negative impact on MoMA’s finances or reputation. From each recording I am using a relatively small portion of the whole, and regarding Substantiality I'd say none of them are at the heart of a given recording. Regarding the transformative nature of the work: I may not be using the audio in completely new or unexpected ways, but am modifying them enough to be considered distinct from the originals. If / when you make your own Material Works, consider all this and from where you want to download source audio. I am not maintaining any (C) or anything on this idea, title, etc. Material Works is a suggestion.
If you make your own, please email me as I’d love to hear them!
Header image of MoMA's interior by Wikipedia user Ingfbruno. Added on April 36, 2013, CC-BY-SA