the art of glass

bleeding noise
O Justice Yeldham [and the Dynamic Ribbon Device -αυτό είναι ολόκληρο το όνομά του στα live show του] είναι ένας μοναδικός καλλιτέχνης. Ακραίος, εκκεντρικός, παλαβός, όπως κι αν τον χαρακτηρίσει κανείς σημασία έχει ότι αυτό που δημιουργεί στις παραστάσεις του δεν το κάνει άλλος, τουλάχιστον μέχρι να δώσουν στα κατορθώματά του μεγαλύτερη δημοσιότητα και να αρχίσουν κι άλλοι παλαβοί να τον μιμούνται. Απόψε είδα ένα βίντεο από παράστασή του, αυτή ακριβώς την παράσταση που περιγράφει παρακάτω ο Michael Smith, και θεωρώ ότι είναι απ’ τα πιο ακραία και πρωτότυπα θεάματα που έχω δει. Όχι γιατί είναι κάτι σοκαριστικό ή κάτι πρωτοφανές, πολλοί καλλιτέχνες έχουν πειραματιστεί με πιο αιματηρές performances και η κακοποίηση του σώματος έχει εκφραστεί με πολύ πιο τρομακτικούς τρόπους, ο Justice Yeldham όμως φτιάχνει μουσική [πιο σωστά: δημιουργεί θορύβους] κακοποιώντας το πρόσωπό του, το κεφάλι του, το στόμα του, παίζοντας με ένα κομμάτι γυαλί. Ένα κομμάτι γυαλί που σημειωτέον είναι άγαρμπα σπασμένο και μπορεί να σε σφάξει. Το δαγκώνει, το σπάει [χτυπώντας το στο κεφάλι του, δαγκώνοντάς το!], πετσοκόβεται, αιμορραγεί, κι όλα αυτά μπροστά στα μάτια ενός κοινού που τον παρακολουθεί έκθαμβο να δημιουργεί κυριολεκτικά μέσα απ’ τα αίματα και τον πόνο ήχους που παραπέμπουν σε ασυνάρτητη hardcore μπάντα [στην καλύτερη περίπτωση] ή noisemongers που παίζουν με συχνότητες και ακούγονται σαν επιδρομείς εξωγήινοι -ή ήχοι απ’ την κόλαση- [στην χειρότερη]. Όταν λέω ΤΡΟΜΕΡΟ το εννοώ. Κυριολεκτικά. Αυτός ο Αυστραλός απ' το Σίδνεϋ κατάφερε να με καταπλήξει. Enjoy….

"It was louder than anything that had preceded it, and it had an organic quality that demanded my attention - so I took a look. The Australian stood in the middle of a semi-circle of onlookers, the DJ and a hospital gurney behind him. He wore a belt of effects peddles about his waste which were wired to a contact microphone affixed to a three foot long triangular piece of plate glass that was balanced on one shoulder and pressed wickedly against his face with both hands. It was like some perverse facial ham press. He blew into the glass like a trumpet player trapped in a two dimensional universe, sliding the glass back and forth across his face to change the pitch, vibrating and adjusting pressure to alter the tambour. The sound was a combination of the vibrations created by his manipulations and the feedback from the amplification, and he truly played it like an instrument. In totality, it was kind of like a cross between a dental vacuum and a jet engine - two of my favorite sounds. The first cuts I noticed were on his shoulder where hewas supporting most of the weight of the glass. His tee shirt had been sliced in two or three places, and a little bit of blood was starting to show. It was evident that this was going to be more than anyone had expected, and to drive that point home, he stuck the narrow end of the triangle as far into his mouth as he could fit it - and bit down. Breathing through barred, clenched teeth, a whole new sound appeared and then the glass gave way, shattering in his mouth. Quickly spitting out what he could, the larger, unbroken section of glass was again up against his face - smaller now, higher in pitch and somehow more urgent. His mouth was bleeding, and the distorted image of his face took on a new aspect of horror as the blood formed an organic liquid gasket between man and instrument. The intensity of the noise had not let up one bit, and with a few quick twists of the knobs on his belt any sense of waning was replaced by a new level of sound and violence. He bit the glass again, removing another big chunk, and then returned to the "first position," now with a piece of glass less than half it's original size. Again, the sound advanced to a new intensity, and at this point his entire face was red with blood that was mixing with his saliva and mucus to drip in tendrils from his hands, chin, and of course the glass. By this point, he was completely unable to stand still. The focus and control of is initial stance was replaced by a twisting, stomping, arching tangle of odd dance moves clearly inspired by the drive to continue the performance to it's conclusion. The final moments of the performance are hard to describe - suffice it to say that there was no piece of glass remaining that was larger that two inches in size. I was definitely left with an awareness that I had seen something that was totally for real - and I know that I've been a better person for it in the three days since."