Material resistance: towards a politics of listening

Journal article

Birtwistle, A. 2020. Material resistance: towards a politics of listening. Echo. (1).
AuthorsBirtwistle, A.
Abstract

This article seeks to address the question posed by art historian Petra Lange-Berndt, "What does it mean to give agency to the material, to follow the material and to act with the material?" Focusing on the notion of material resistance as a form of nonhuman agency, I argue for a politics of listening, in which certain modes of sonic art creative practice founded on listening have the potential to challenge the anthropocentric notions of mastery and control that have traditionally informed the relationship between the artist and the material. The sound recordings accompanying this article aim to realise ideas regarding material agency discussed in the text.

KeywordsMaterial resistance; Nonhuman agency; Listening; Art; Sound recordings
Year2020
JournalEcho
Journal citation(1)
PublisherOrpheus Institute
Official URLhttps://echo.orpheusinstituut.be/article/material-resistance
Related URLhttps://echo.orpheusinstituut.be/#issues
Publication dates
Online20 Nov 2020
Publication process dates
Accepted01 Sep 2020
Deposited23 Nov 2020
Output statusPublished
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https://repository.canterbury.ac.uk/item/8wvqx/material-resistance-towards-a-politics-of-listening

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