All For a Helen

Abstract

“For a Helen” is a multimedia work for film, sound, and electronics. It is the outcome of an ongoing research in the narrative abilities of the aforementioned media when used in tandem. The syntax of the work is characterized by parataxis - the placement of stimuli one after the other “without coordinating or subordinating connectives” (Merriam-Webster), thereby generating a spectrum of narratives by the very association of the stimuli to each other. This form of syntax provides a freer platform for the exploration of the media’s expressive as well as time construction capabilities. Both the visual and audio parts of the work were composed at the same time. I consider all three as different sides of the same tool of expression and picked each medium according to their individual characteristics that fit the part of the overall narrative the best. The paratactic syntax and the treatment of the media as equals, made me realize the different “experience of time” that audio and visual stimuli construct and the intricacies that arise when putting them together. In a hypotactic syntax, there is a hierarchy between the media, and the one on top defines - for the most part - the time experience of the work. In a paratactic syntax, time is shaped by the interjection of each medium’s individual time experience in the service of the overall narrative direction.

Presenters

Kakia Gkoudina
Student, Doctor of Musical Arts, Michigan State University, Michigan, United States

Details

Presentation Type

Creative Practice Showcase

Theme

2022 Special Focus—-History/Histories: From the Limits of Representation to the Boundaries of Narrative

KEYWORDS

FILM, AUDIOVISUAL, NARRATIVE, ABSTRACT, IDENTITY, SOCIOPOLITICAL, CONTEXT, MUSIC

Digital Media

Videos

All For A Helen
All For A Helen (Embed)