"Esperplode" for Alto Flute

"Esperplode"

For Alto Flute

Bil Smith Composer

26” X 16”; 66 X 40.7 cm

Vanilla Oil, Ammonium-Based Ionic Liquid, Various Inks, Squalane (Plant-Based), Pyrolytic Graphite, Graphene Foam on Moab Entrada Digital Rag Bright 300 gsm

Edition of 6 with 2 APs

In the score of "Esperplode" for Alto Flute, we encounter a radical deconstruction of the traditional notational system. This piece, through its intricate network of spheres and circles fashioned from 3D models and proprietary colorization techniques, destabilizes the very foundations of how music is conceptualized, performed, and experienced.

The use of 3D structural modeling in the notation of "Esperplode" represents a profound shift from the linear, two-dimensional plane of traditional scores to a multi-dimensional, spatial-temporal representation of sound. These geometric forms, these spheres and circles, do not merely symbolize musical elements in a conventional sense. They embody a multiplicity of potentialities, each one a différance, a deferred presence that both signifies and disrupts the expected continuity of musical narrative. They demand an interpretive act that is as much about what is not there, the absences and silences, as it is about the audible notes.

Colorization, applied through proprietary techniques, further complicates this interplay. The colors are not mere aesthetic embellishments; they are integral signifiers within the notational system. Each hue, each shade, is a trace, a mark of difference that resonates with the music’s thematic and emotional undercurrents. These colors enact a play of presence and absence, guiding the performer through a landscape of meaning that is as much visual as it is auditory. The colors themselves become a text, a script that must be read and interpreted in conjunction with the sound.

In this way, "Esperplode" absorbs our gaze and extends it beyond the immediate visual field, compelling us to engage with the horizon of our experience. The score is not a static entity but a dynamic process, a site of continuous becoming. It is a pharmakon, both remedy and poison, healing the fragmentation of traditional notation while simultaneously introducing a complexity that can never be fully resolved. The spheres and circles, with their inherent curvature and fluidity, resist the linearity of traditional notation, embodying instead a non-linear, rhizomatic structure that echoes Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of a map that is always in motion.

In "Esperplode," the score becomes a site of jouissance, a space where the limits of language and notation are tested and transgressed. It embodies a Lacanian real that eludes full comprehension, a kernel of the impossible that lies at the heart of artistic creation. The performer, in engaging with this score, must navigate a terrain where meaning is always in flux, where the act of interpretation is a perpetual negotiation with the unknown.

 

"Broke and Broken Cogito" for Tenor

 

BROKE AND BROKEN COGITO

2024

40” X 30”; 101.6 X 76.2 cm

Ink, Graphite Pen, Charcoal, Ash, Color Ink on C-Print

Edition of 5 with 2 APs

"Reality Bends to the Whim" for Viola

 

"Reality Bends to the Whim" 

for Viola

Bil Smith Composer

2024

Link to Full Score PDF

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dNtPNfdsNnsLsH8qyVfR8Ic6DgHjzDov/view?usp=sharing

This piece for Solo Viola presents a complex notational architecture, where each symbol and line transcends its aesthetic form to become a battleground of expression and resistance.

At the very outset, "Reality Bends to the Whim" confronts traditional notions of musical scores as mere repositories of neutral instructions. The piece actively eschews any semblance of formalism, universal language, or the flatness typically associated with conventional scores. Instead, the score's tablature asserts itself through a philosophy of negation and criticality. This is not a passive resistance characterized by indifference or absence, but an active confrontation, marked by a tangible presence and emotional attachment.

The physical presentation of the score further underlines its thematic defiance. In the uneven motific constructions, the notational elements recall the rugged, hand-built walls of ancient civilizations—gridded, girded, gritty, and grouted. Yet, within this seemingly impenetrable structural density, there exists an airiness brought about by deliberate gaps and reveals in the score's construction.

This juxtaposition of solidity and permeability serves as a metaphor for the Violist's ability to oscillate between intense compactness and expansive liberation,

The notational construct is characterized by a duality of being both taut and at times drooping or tangling, where the jagged parts are pieced together in a manner akin to a potchkie—an improvised, often clumsy, yet endearing construction. This textural diversity within the score mirrors the variegated emotional landscape that the composition aims to evoke. The score is scrubbed and stained to various degrees of finish or unfinish, much like an artist's canvas, bearing the marks of its creation process, and in turn, influencing the interpretative journey of the Violist.

The tone of the score carries what might be described as a barometric pressure of moods, shifting across its duration like weather fronts sweeping across a landscape. This meteorological analogy captures the fluid, often unpredictable emotional shifts that the piece demands, engaging the performer in a constant adjustment to the evolving tonal atmosphere.

The hyphenated musical identities hold multiple allegiances. This aspect speaks to a broader, almost cosmological exploration of cultural and musical identities, compressed and expanded within the mosaic of the score. Each note, each marking, each symbol does not merely denote a sound but also encapsulates a universe of historical, cultural, and personal significances that the performer must decode and embody.

"The Magnesium Device Whose Undulations Lulled Me Into the Illusion" for 'Maroon' (A Newly Designed Brass Instrument from Thomas Inderbinen)

for 'Maroon' (A Newly Designed Brass/Trumpet Variation from Thomas Inderbinen)

Bil Smith Composer

Published by LNM Editions

A Multimodal Notational Paradigm Envisioned Through Avant-Garde Art and Architectural Lexicons

 

In the vanguard of modern musical evolution, the pursuit of notational systems that surpass conventional frameworks encapsulates an effort to weave more profound, multisensory connections between composition, performance, and interpretation. This whitepaper elucidates a sophisticated, iconographic notational system replete with color displacement and architectural structural intricacies, steeped in the avant-garde ethos of Lucio Fontana, Mimmo Totaro, Piero Manzoni, David Carson, Neville Brody, and Agostino Bonalumi. This proposed system aspires to unify music and visual artistry, granting composers and performers an interpretive tableau that transcends traditional notation.

 

Conventional music notation, while historically efficient, often confines compositional possibilities to established tonal and rhythmic boundaries. Integrating principles from avant-garde visual art into notational practice opens vast realms for the embodiment of sound, movement, and emotive expression. Inspired by luminaries in visual and conceptual art, this proposed notational system is poised to transform musical scores into dynamic, interpretative visual works.

Conceptual Influences

This novel notational framework draws from:

Lucio Fontana: Pioneering ‘Spatial Concepts’ defined by perforations and spatial interventions, Fontana’s influence is mirrored in notational perforations and layered textures that denote sonic depth and dynamic fluctuations.

Mimmo Totaro & Agostino Bonalumi: Known for tactile, protruding canvases, Totaro and Bonalumi inspire raised notational symbols representing textured soundscapes and shifting intensities, engaging musicians’ tactile senses.

Piero Manzoni: His engagement with conceptual art and transient mediums informs notational elements that morph through kinetic and chromatic interactions.

David Carson: Deconstructive typography and asymmetrical design from Carson inform the system’s non-linear, exploratory arrangement of musical elements.

Neville Brody: Renowned for blending bold visual abstraction with typographic precision, Brody’s aesthetics guide structured, yet intricate notational matrices.

The Paradigm of Compositional Elements

ChromaFlux Signatures: A paradigm wherein each musical note or gesture carries a color gradient that shifts to reflect dynamic variance and tonal hue. High-frequency articulations burst in radiant, vibrant tones, while bass notes appear in subdued, deep chromatic layers.

Architonal Constructs: Architectural motifs such as keystones, arcs, and modular columns signify complex temporal divisions and rhythmic polyphonies. These constructs align motifs into sonic pillars and bridges, indicating cross-sectional harmonic convergence.

Manifold Glyphs: Borrowing from Fontana’s dimensional punctuations and Carson’s disruptive lettering, these icons transcend traditional notational symbols to represent articulations, microtonal deviations, and expressive nuances.

Luminous Interactives: Inspired by Manzoni’s ephemeral works, certain icons react to proximity, pressure, or thermal changes, shifting chromatically or altering form. These dynamic markings invite performers to engage in a corporeal dialogue with the score.

Resonant Textures: Echoing Bonalumi’s raised surfaces, textured, tactile embossments delineate gradations in volume and sonic density. Musicians interpret these resonant cues through touch, fostering a haptic-auditory synthesis.

Implementation and Interpretative Dynamics

This notational approach redefines engagement, shifting performers from passive reading to immersive interaction. By employing:

Visual-Haptic Synergy: The integration of textured and colored elements creates a dual-sensory experience that enhances cognitive retention and expressive depth.

Spatial-Centric Navigation: The deliberate placement of ‘Architonal Constructs’ guides performers through non-linear trajectories, fostering personalized interpretative choices.

Synesthetic Modalities: The interplay of colors and tactile elements conjures multisensory responses, resonating with cognitive research indicating enriched performance and emotive expression through multimodal stimuli.

Challenges and Standardization

While opening expansive interpretative potential, this system encounters challenges such as:

Pedagogical Barriers: Musicians and composers must undergo specialized training to decipher and execute the complex symbology.

Uniformity Dilemmas: Harmonizing this avant-garde notation with existing musicological practices will require adaptive strategies.

Accessibility Concerns: Ensuring that tactile and color-coded symbols are inclusive to those with visual or sensory impairments necessitates innovative adaptations.

Conclusion

This iconographic notational paradigm, inspired by the works of Fontana, Totaro, Manzoni, Carson, Brody, and Bonalumi, converges sound and sight into an immersive artistic and performative medium. Through ChromaFlux Signatures, Architonal Constructs, and Manifold Glyphs, this system challenges traditional boundaries, inviting artists into a space where music is experienced as visual and haptic art.

Prospective Developments

Exploring digital avenues such as augmented reality (AR) and interactive holographic projections could augment this notational paradigm, propelling music into a realm of fully integrated multisensory art.

"Loy's Labyrinth" for Vibraphone and Harp

"Loy's Labyrinth" 

for Vibraphone and Harp

Bil Smith Composer

"Loy's Labyrinth" is not a composition that provides a comfortable center for its performers. Much like Loy's writings, it resists the confines of a fixed point and urges us to move forward, accepting the fluidity of "there" while rejecting the constraints of "here."

Mina Loy, known for her undulating idiosyncratic script and avant-garde literary works, serves as the muse for this composition. Her writings, characterized by their systematic organization into gridded size tableaux and "day calculations," disrupted ocular-centric regimes of viewing. Similarly, "Loy's Labyrinth" carries forward this spirit of defiance, activating the potential for embodied experience through its musical expression.

Much like Mina Loy's own engagement with profit, commodification, multinationalism, location, politics, and creative labor, "Loy's Labyrinth" is part of a "convoluted distributive process." It refuses to be confined within traditional musical boundaries and instead navigates the complex terrain of cultural and creative exchange. This composition's notational system becomes a tool for generating optic tethering, connecting it with the broader context of contemporary artistic discourse

The score is firmly grounded in the inescapable materiality of the world. This materiality anchors it in the tangible realm, allowing it to interact with and be influenced by every other cultural manifestation it encounters. It thrives on contamination, drawing inspiration from various sources and transcending traditional musical constraints.

Mina Loy, born Mina Gertrude Löwy on December 27, 1882, was a remarkable and influential figure in the realms of literature, art, and feminism during the early 20th century. Her life and work were characterized by a relentless pursuit of intellectual and creative freedom, challenging societal norms, and pushing boundaries in both her writing and her activism.

Loy, though often overlooked in canonical narratives of modernism, was undeniably a vital poet and artist who played an instrumental role in numerous avant-garde movements, including Futurism, Dada, and Surrealism. Her life and work were marked by a relentless pursuit of artistic innovation and a tireless commitment to pushing the boundaries of conventional art and literature. Let's delve deeper into the life and contributions of this remarkable transatlantic modernist.

In the early decades of the 20th century, Loy embarked on extensive travels across Europe. She immersed herself in the vibrant cultural scenes of London and Paris, where she rubbed shoulders with emerging modernist writers and artists. Notable among her acquaintances were luminaries like Gertrude Stein and Pablo Picasso.

Loy's European journey led her to Florence, Italy, where she became closely associated with the Italian Futurists. During her time in Florence, she engaged in romantic relationships with prominent artists of the movement, including F. T. Marinetti and Giovanni Papini. Her participation in Futurism marked her early immersion in the avant-garde.

The outbreak of World War I forced Loy to flee to the other side of the Atlantic. She found herself in New York, where she became an integral part of the American and expatriate artistic and literary circles. Loy contributed to influential publications like Camera Work and Rogue, solidifying her position as a figure of importance in the New York avant-garde scene.

In 1917, Loy collaborated with the renowned artist Marcel Duchamp to co-publish The Blind Man, a two-issue Dadaist periodical. This collaboration exemplified her commitment to the Dada movement, which challenged conventional notions of art and aesthetics. Loy was instrumental in disseminating Dadaist art and ideas to American audiences.

In 1918, Loy married Arthur Cravan, an amateur boxer and Dada poet, in Mexico City. Cravan's disappearance at sea two years later marked a tragic episode in Loy's life. She dedicated significant time and effort to searching for him, but he was never found.

Mina Loy's life and career were characterized by a commitment to artistic experimentation and a willingness to challenge established norms. Her involvement in multiple avant-garde movements and her pioneering contributions to modernist literature make her a figure of enduring significance in the history of art and literature.

Despite being overshadowed by some of her contemporaries, Mina Loy's legacy continues to inspire contemporary artists and writers who appreciate her unyielding dedication to innovation and her fearless exploration of the avant-garde.

 

"Pleasured and Fractured Certainty" for Bassoon

"Pleasured and Fractured Certainty" for Bassoon

5 Pages. 46” X 32”; 116.8 X 81.3 cm

Ink, Molten Gel, Acrylic, Tarte Maracuja Oil, Cold Spray Coating, Oil on Fujifilm Crystal Archive Supreme

Edition of 5 with 1 AP