Poem as Soundscape with Morse Code

The Artist as Lord of Creation
Poems as Multi-media Visual Art - Project #14 Original concepts: September/October, 2011-2012 14--Poem in Morse Code Poem presented as a string of Morse code to form text. The code played over speakers, or perhaps a telegraph device with its sound amplified over speakers as the poem taps out over and over in a loop. Materials: Poetic text in Morse Code, ideally a telegraph machine, but a recording might do. speaker/ radio receiver. Together with a poster of the Morse code text. Notes: Can we make a large, wall-sized poster of the code? Do we want a morse code telegraph device to be tapping out the code? speakers playing audio tones? Yes to all three.


I've been having trouble including my audio outtakes of the text for The Artist as Lord of Creation rendered into morse code and woven into a soundscape that includes multiple voices and some sound effects. Much work to do still, as this is about 20-25% done. Stay tuned

Links:

http://morsecode.scphillips.com/jtranslator.html

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Text in Morse Code:

- .... . / .- .-. - .. ... - / .- ... / .-.. --- .-. -.. / --- ..-. / -.-. .-. . .- - .. --- -. / .... . .-. / -- .. -. -.. / .. ... / .- / .--- ..- -- 

-... .-.. . / --- ..-. / -... .-. .. -.. . ... / .- -. -.. / -... .-. .. -.. --. . ... --..-- / -... .. .-. -.. ... / .- ... / .-. . 

-.. / .- ... / .... . .-. / -.-. .... . . -.- ... / .. -. / - .... . / -- --- --- -. .-.. .. --. .... - .-.-.- / - .... . / -.-. .. - -.-- / .-- .. 

- .... / . ...- . .-. -.-- - .... .. -. --. / .-- .... . .-. . / ... .... . / .--. .- .. -. - ... / .. - --..-- / -. --- - .... .. -. 

--. / .-- .... . .-. . / .. - / .-- .- -. - ... / - --- / -... . .-.-.- / .... . .-. / .- .-.. -- --- -. -.. / . -.-- . ... / .- -. -.. / ...- . .-.. ...- . 

- / ... -- --- -.- .. -. --. -....- -.-. --- .- - --..-- / - .... . / -... .-. ..- ... .... / .- -. -.. / -.-. --- .-.. --- .-. ... / --- 

-. / .... . .-. / .--. .- .-.. . - - . --..-- / ... .. -. --. / --- ..- .-. / --. .-. . .- - . ... - / ..-. . .- .-. --..-- / ...- --- .. 

-.-. . / .-- .... .- - / .-- . / .-.. . .- ... - / .-- .- -. - / - --- / .... . .- .-. --..-- / .-- .... .- - / - .... .-. .. .-.. .-.. ... / ..- ... / -- 

--- ... - ---... / .-- . / .-- .. .-.. .-.. / --. . - / -. --- - .... .. -. --. / .-- . / .-- .- -. - .-.-.- / .-- . / .-- .. .-.. .-.. / --. . 

- / .-- .... .- - / ... .... . / --. .. ...- . ... / ..- ... / .- -. -.. / .-.. .. -.- . / .. - .-.-.-

Literary Poetic Text: The Artist as Lord of Creation Her mind's a jumble of brides And bridges, birds as red As her cheeks in the moonlight' The city with everything where she paints it Nothing where it wants to be. Her almond eyes and velvet smoking-coat, The brush and colors on her palette Sing our greatest fear, voice What we least want to hear, What thrills us most: We will get nothing we want. We will get what she gives us And like it.

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Poem

Presentation: Pieces will be presented in a gallery or similar setting as a single show, and ideally be incorporated into a single room installation so that, after being seen individually, they may be presented as part of a single installation.

Text: Will be presented within large/medium-format photographic image, in various forms of Morse code, Braille, sound recordings, popular consumer items such as toilet paper and paper towel roles with accompanying commercial packaging, video recordings, projections, various types of commercial and industrial signage, computer displays, LED displays, nixie tubes, among other methods.

Pieces will use both analog and digital technology, machinery, and methods, sometimes in combination, to create a unique, highly controlled presentation of poetic text.

As noted, Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Poem is a project that presents a single piece of literary poetic text, a poem, in thirteen different multi-media visual formats. The project explores new ways of presenting poems, what I now call "literary poetic text," as multi-media art.

The first of these thirteen ways is titled "The Artist as Lord of Creation," and presents the text as a votive image in the form of photo-retablo, in which the text is merged with a live action photograph and presented in the style of a Mexican retablo, or tin painting.

The poem, instead of being text, instead of being text and image, becomes the experience of the final product. That is, the image and the text merge to create a visual and textual experience, and it is that experience that is the poem.

To produce this part of the project, I worked with several people. The project was directed and photographed by Rebecca Massey. Our model was Nyika Allen. The text in this version is in Spanish, and was translated with crucial help from Juan Massey.

The image below is an early proof of our first efforts:

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Poem by Jefferson Adams

This blog documents a line of artistic inquiry into the possibility of expressing literary poetic text, or poetry, as multimedia art.

Synopsis: This project seeks to present a single piece of poetic text titled "The Artist as Lord of Creation," in thirteen different contexts, using multimedia, advertising and commercial product packaging. The individual expressions of the poetic text will then appear collectively in a single installation. So, the entire piece will consist of thirteen individual expressions of the poetic text, and the installation in which they appear collectively.

Presentation: Pieces will be presented in a gallery or similar setting.

Text: Will be presented within large/medium-format photographic image, in various forms of Morse code, Braille, sound recordings, popular consumer items such as toilet paper and paper towel roles with accompanying commercial packaging, video recordings, projections, various types of commercial and industrial signage, computer displays, nixie tubes,  among other methods.

Pieces will use both analog and digital technology, machinery, and methods, sometimes in combination, to create a unique, highly controlled presentation of poetic text.

The project will incorporate the best thirteen of the following contents:
00--Poem as a Large-Format Photograph
01--Poem as Photograph on Wooden Jigsaw Puzzle in a Plexiglass Box
01a--Poem a jigsaw puzzle of photograph 00
02--Poem on individual Rolls of Fine Toilet Paper
02a--Poem on 4 Rolls of Fine Toilet Paper w/ Individual and package wrapping
02b--Poem on a 12 Rolls of Fine Toilet Paper w/ Individual, 4-pack, and 12-pack package wrapping
03--Poems on a Roll of Fine Paper Towels
03a-b--(Same as 2a and 2b above--4-packs and 12-packs of poems with packaging
04--Video: Poem in a Flooded Waterscape
05--Book of Poems as Video Loop
06--Poem as Video Display
07--Poem as Shredded Poem
08--Poem as Nixie Tube Display
09--Poem as Programmable Light Display
10--Poetry as Puzzle Book
11--Poem in Colorblind Letter text
12--Poem in Braille
13--Poem in Semaphore
14--Poem in Morse Code
15--Poem as Computer Puzzle Game
16--Poems as Poetry Wipes
17--Thirteen Voices/Thirteen Ways
18--Poem as Multiple Voices--Artist as Lord
19--Poem as Laser Projection on Landscape
20--Poem as Maritime Flags
21--Poetry on Split-Flap Sign Board
22--Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Poem
23--Poem as Binary Code
24--Poem as Binary Code Photograph
25--Poem as Text Photograph
26--Poem as Binary Soundscape

Early proof of Poem as Large format, live action photograph as retáblo painting. The text is presented in Spanish: