Pauline Oliveros for Artists

This course is based on the theory and practice of composer, performer, and educator Pauline Oliveros (1932-2016). Her influential "Sonic Meditations" implicate both the physical body and the social body, are rooted in an intensive engagement with the sound environment, and emphasize modes of awareness and attention and the relationship between these two perceptual states. Her subsequent development of Deep Listening is "a practice intended for experiencing heightened and expanded awareness of the sound/silence continuum." This course is invested in exploring these ideas in relation to contemporary art, prioritizing sound over vision while also shifting focus from individual practice toward plural formations. Students will listen to music by Oliveros and perform some of her scores, many of which were intended for untrained performers. We will also read and discuss writings by Oliveros and many others, while considering adjacent works of theory, art, and performance. In this sense, Oliveros will act as a central node for an expansive inquiry into sound, listening, place, queer temporality, improvisation, gender, collectivity, and other interests. Students will maintain a notebook or sketchbook for writing and drawing, and each student will present a final project or develop and lead a group activity. Over the course of the semester, students are expected to develop a better sense of both local and global awareness of the sonic environment and beyond. This course is open for online enrollment to students in the Program in Art and open to students across the institute by permission of the instructor.