UCSD Open Studios: Rachel Thompson

Rachel Thompson

My work traverses the intersection of sound and moving image, exploring kinetic and somatic interactions with video cameras, musical instruments, and other devices used in the production of sound and image. Cameras, microphones, projectors, and computers thus transcend their roles as consumer electronics to become performative audio-visual instruments. I often employ a poetic conceit that positions these tools as extensions of my own perceptual apparatus, wherein the addition of a mechanical appendage enables, disables, or reconfigures the often-unacknowledged abilities of vision, audition, and navigation of the body through space. In other moments, I re-imagine these tools as personified collaborators, seeking to work in concert with their internal logic or to thoroughly thwart their intended use. My vision is not of a cyborgian fusion of human and machine, but rather of a re-oriented set of interactions between humans and their devices, wherein each enables the poetic transformation of the other.

Interdependent relationships between sound, movement, and image form the crux of my creative investigations. Whether enacting a shift in musical intention toward action rather than sonic results, mounting a miniature camera on my body so as to redirect its gaze, or placing the subtle manipulation of a handheld sheet of Mylar at the center of a live video performance, I seek to locate physicality within the realm of digital technology. The dynamics of collaborative processes occupy center stage within many of my creative endeavors. Working with others introduces an element of welcomed turbulence into my own creative practice that challenges established habits, fostering growth and experimentation. Sound and moving image emanate from the same source and are inextricably linked in my work. The relationship is at times direct and in other moments oblique, yet decisions are always made in tandem, with each serving as the equal partner in the creation of a whole.

Rachel holds a BA and MA in music from Wesleyan University and co-founded the record label SET Projects with Jonathan Zorn. She has performed at the Knitting Factory (New York), REDCAT (Los Angeles), the Library of Congress (Washington D.C.), and Super Bowl XXVI (Minneapolis). Her work can be seen at the online Rasbliutto library, a slowly changing, self-curated catalog of music and sound art.

set-projects.com

http://rasbliutto.net/artists

Rachel Thompson

Artists