Artist Response No 5

Dialtones: A Telesymphony

Dialtones: A Telesymphony, first performed in 2001 at the Ars Electronica festival in Linz, Austria, is a musical project founded by Golan Levin and his collaborators Scott Gibbons, Gregory Shakar, and Yasmin Sohrawardy. The idea of the project which is based on a musical performance played on the audience's mobile phones builds on the legacy of John Cage, who used sounds from everyday life in his music, and whose work inspired generations of musicians and artists.

I truly like Golan Levin's idea to use cell phone sounds, which are mostly considered noise pollution in public spaces, to produce something so creative. As it is stated in the excerpt, mobile phones have become so omnipresent that a new etiquette appeared in movie theaters, concert halls, and other performance spaces, namly the ritual of silencing these ubiquitous devices.
In my opinion, artist who take objects or phenomenon from our daily life and try to create something new or creative that represents those objects from a different point of view, should receive far more credit for their work. Golan Levin's work somehow reminds me of this artist, I can't remember his name, who used old trash (metal objects and synthetic materials) in order tp produce something new out of it. He primarely created sculptures.