Sound artists Jon Drummond and “Dr Sonique” have done the unthinkable - rubber stamped the “melody” of every possible telephone number combination as their own.
Their Magnus-Opus is a playful way of challenging copyright law, which Dr Sonique - better known as artist Dr Nigel Helyer - says often benefits the “corporates” before creators of artistic works.
Sixteen two-note chords were thrown into an algorithmic generator, which produced 10 billion melodies. “It is not without reason, therefore, that we claim to be the world’s most prolific composers,” the site proclaims.
Coincidentally, it says, some of the melodies - copyrighted in 1974 in London - correspond to tones used in phones, modems and other Internet devices. Anyone can plug in their number and see if their melody is in use. If so, anyone who dials it is infringing the artists’ copyright. The site provides application forms for licence agreements which can be filled out.
The work, Helyer says, “turns the power relationship on its head”. “It comes from someone at the bottom of the food chain, speaking from the point of view of someone at the top.” http://www.magnus-opus.com
THE ARTIST
THE SOUND IN THIS SITE
It is ironic that the website of a Sound Artist contains very little audio material. This is, of course, intentional, the principal reasons being that I place a strong emphasis on the experience of a work in-situ, mediated as it is by the environmental context and the listening trajectory of the viewer/auditor. Secondly, the majority of these projects are multi-source environments, often operating with interactive or dynamic elements that are virtually impossible to represent as a linear stereo field.
A method I have adopted, that in some part overcomes such problems of Audio representation of complex sound installations, is to develop parallel Radiophonic projects. These Radio works are designed to give a general impression of the content and intention of the Installations whilst recognising the linear and more narrative form of stereo broadcast.
A range of ‘Sonic Archives’ may be ordered directly via this site for research and/or educational purposes.
SEARCH
MONTHLY ARCHIVES
RECENT ENTRIES
JOIN MAILING LIST
RANDOM QUOTES
A singer who sings like a bird is an unproductive worker. When she sells her song, she is a wage earner or a merchant. But the same singer, employed by someone else to give concerts and bring in money, is a productive worker because she directly produces capital.
Karl Marx, “Travail productif et travail improductif,” Materiaux pour l’economie.