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The Sound-Poetry of the Instability of Reality: Mimesis and the Reality Effect in Music, Literature, and Visual Art

This paper uses the concept of mimesis to clarify the debate concerning the representation of reality in music. Specifically, this study defines the audio reality effect and the three main practices of realism as a way of understanding mimetic practices in multiple artistic media, in particular regarding the multimedia works of the "Landscape series." After addressing the historical debates concerning mimesis, this study develops a framework for the understanding of mimesis in sound by addressing the writings of Weiss, Baudrillard, Barthes, Deleuze, and Prendergast and by examining mimetic practices in 19th-century European painting and multimedia performance works. The audio reality effect is proposed as a meaningful translation of Roland Barthes' literary reality effect to the sonic realm. The main trends of realist practice are applied to electroacoustic music and soundscape composition using the works and writings of Emmerson, Truax, Wishart, Risset, Riddell, Smalley, Murray Schafer, Fischman, Young, and Field. Lastly, this study mimetically analyzes "2 seconds / b minor / wave" by Michael Pisaro and Taku Sugimoto and the works of the "Landscape series" in order to demonstrate the relevance of mimesis for understanding current musical practice.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc849623
Date05 1900
CreatorsUnderriner, Chaz, 1987-
ContributorsKlein, Joseph, 1962-, Kokoras, Panayiotis, 1974-, Stout, David, 1955-
PublisherUniversity of North Texas
Source SetsUniversity of North Texas
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis or Dissertation
Formatvii, 153 pages : illustrations, music, Text
RightsPublic, Underriner, Chaz, 1987-, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.

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