Synopsis

​ 'To Future Listeners I' is a digital performance video that traces the sounds of the past. The song heard in the video is “Love Song - Ararang 1,” which was recorded on a wax cylinder in 1896 by American anthropologist Alice Fletcher, who asked three Koreans studying abroad in Washington to perform it for her. This recording is believed to be the first known example of traditional Korean music being recorded on a recording medium.

Program Note

​ With an Adobe Audition window displaying the noise-cancellation plug-in, To Future Listeners I poses the question – "What is music, and what is noise?" Challenging the criteria within its historical context, the work exemplifies the fragmentation of non-Western traditional music through the use of traditional Korean music recorded on wax cylinders in 1896 by American anthropologist Alice Fletcher. By watching waveforms in a fixed frame, one is prompted to contemplate the relationship between culture, power, and technology. This audio-visual experience reminds us of a collection of sounds that were at risk of being forgotten. (Nam Sunwoo)

Director

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  • Kim Young-eun
  • Kim Youngeun's work examines the history of sound, focusing on how the history of modernization and colonialism has shaped our aural perception, centering around Asia and the Asian diasporic community. She was an artist-in-residence at Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Film and Digital Media at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her work has been shown at the Museum of Fine Arts Bern, Switzerland; Samsung Museum of Art, Korea; National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea; Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, USA; and many others. Kim Youngeun is a recipient of the Prix Ars Electronica and SongEun Art Award.