#caitlinsutherland

November 12th, 2016, Function Keys 3 Conference of New Technology and Digital Culture, Centre[3] for Print and Media Art, Hamilton, ON.

By Caitlin Sutherland

Martin Messier, Field (performance documentation), Function Keys 3, November 12, 2016. Organized by Centre[3] for Print and Media Arts. Photo: Andrew Butkevicius

When I first arrived at the Spice Factory to watch Martin Messier’s performance Field, as part of the Function Keys conference coordinated by Centre[3], I didn’t know what to expect. I had read the description on the conference’s website, and sure, it would be a performance where electromagnetic energy is converted into sound, resulting in a generative performance. I imagined a literal interpretation of this, part experimental music performance, part performance art, and some sort of computer programming (given the context of the conference). That was about where any context I had, ended. What the audience and I witnessed is still difficult to put into words, due to its complexity and interdisciplinary nature. As the performance began, Messier connected what looked like guitar patch cords to two separate metal panels, riddled with inputs. He swiveled and moved these panels around for the audience to see. At first this act seemed controlled yet superfluous; the context of Messier’s body within the performance was not yet apparent. The abstract waves of sound layered themselves as Messier emphatically plugged in each cable, his actions becoming more defined, contorted, and almost violent. Each time he plugged in a cable there was a resounding click/thud. His body was forceful as he performed these actions, but at the same time, one senses that as these electromagnetic currents connect and become audible, they likewise push back — Messier’s body physically reacting to the force.

Martin Messier, Field (performance documentation), Function Keys 3, November 12, 2016. Organized by Centre[3] for Print and Media Arts. Photo: Andrew Butkevicius.

The performance represented a flux of energy moving from one place to another. This typically invisible exchange was rendered physical and audible, the cables themselves becoming physical representations of these electromagnetic waves or fields that surround and permeate us on a daily basis. Curious, I did a little technical research. In the description of the piece, Messier refers to his use of “electromagnetic transducer microphones” to manifest as light, shadow, and sound, the proliferation of positive and negative electromagnetic fields in our day-to-day environments. This prompted me to look at different types of microphones and how they transduce sound into electronic signals. Typically a microphone converts acoustic energy into electrical energy. A dynamic mic (your typical microphone, if you were to visualize one right now) uses electromagnetism – or a magnet to convert sound into energy. In Field, this process is somewhat reversed as Messier ‘transduces’ or converts electromagnetic energy into acoustic energy or sound. However, there are layers to this reverse effect of transducing energy into acoustics, because in order for us to hear and see this electromagnetic energy, the output must transform (or transduce) again, in order to translate or amplify these new electronic signals into light and sound. Each time Messier connects a new patch cable, it in turn informs the program he’s created for this piece on his computer, affecting its sonic capabilities, as well as the lighting, shadows and so forth. Make no mistake— this is a choreographed performance. The insertion of Messier’s body adds another layer to the performance, as well as additional interpretations.

Martin Messier, Field (performance documentation), Function Keys 3, November 12, 2016. Organized by Centre[3] for Print and Media Arts. Photo: Andrew Butkevicius.

As the performance continued, the pace heightened and became more frenetic. As the sounds built, so too did the visual components of the installation through light and shadow. Messier begins to embody a mad scientist, a doctor Frankenstein of sorts. Perhaps a reflection on the exceeding generation of man-made objects and technologies that contribute to the inextricable proliferation of ‘positive’ electromagnetic fields such as cell phones, microwaves, computers, televisions, radios, etc. The reality of the interaction abates as I continued to watch, and I got the sense, through Messier’s use of light and shadow, that I was watching a stop motion animation, at points, feeling as though it were being fast-forwarded and rewound like a VHS tape. I began to have an awareness that some components of the audio and visual effects were programmed in advance, although it was difficult to tell where Messier’s active hand in the installation ended and the pre-programmed lights and sounds began. As the tension and pace of the performance continued to build, cables began to resemble lightning bolts and the sounds became more agitated. As the performance climaxed, Messier frantically played what looked like a live wire with a bow, and then, silence. The lights came on. It felt like we, the audience, needed to take a moment to come down from the immersive and orchestrated narrative ride we had just experienced. Silence. Darkness. I’m still not entirely sure what I experienced, but it will resonate with me for some time.