The Phantom Lights

Research Background- The production of sound/ sonic /music by visual artists has a relatively new history in terms of the compact disk This collaborative sound piece features 2 visual artists working in an automatic sonic soundscape, that has been then edited and ordered and produced with considered titles and visual material. The work continues and extends the PhD research of Dr. Phil Edwards, that associates the CD as an extension of the visual zine, artist book, into the territory of art brut sound. The work was in part comissioned by the Platform Artists Group curators, to celebrate the 20 year history of Platform Artists contemporary Art Spaces and to launch "What Art Which Public" ISBN 978-0-646-54789-3 , A HISTORY OF PLATFORM ARTISTS GROUP 1990-2000. A group supported by Arts Victoria, the Australian Government, the Australia Council and the City of Melbourne. Platform, located in Melbourne underground railway passages has exhibited over 1000 artists and has an audience of 5000 people per day, it is a gallery entering into a public space rather than the public entering to a gallery space. This compact disk contains 11 original collaborative sound compositions between 2 visual artists. As neither artist is a formally trained musician the work invites reflection on the research potential for a Sonic Brut stance in the same manner that there is a long history of Art Brut art work produced by untrained visual artists. The work in sound also enables the listener - viewer to research the links and associations between the visual art and the sonic art made by the artists both collaboratively and as individual practitioners.