The German term “Gesamtkunstwerk,” coined by Richard Wagner to describe his music-dramas, comes to mind with multimedia work. “Gesamt” can mean either “whole” or “integrated,” making the various media of a multimedia work dependent on each other to convey the artist’s intentions. Wagner’s ten operas are spectacular music achievements, but the other elements of the dramas are weak, fussy, derivative. Furthermore, the music can be successfully extracted from the poetry; in other words, it is not completely dependent.
There can be no more disastrous artistic occasion in history than the moment when Wagner decided to create multimedia rather than “pure music:” symphony, chamber music. The failures of many of his early masterpieces bred a deep resentment that manifested itself in ludicrous essays. Musicologists scour Wagner’s scores in search of parallels to his anti-Semitic diatribes. This is surely a downside to multimedia; if one element of the cocktail is infected, the alcohol masks the taste.
My multimedia project is concerned with Wagnerian infiltration. The little girl ultimately infiltrates Wagner with her selfishness. The Grandmother reinforces Wagner’s anti-Semitism which is unapparent in the music itself. Finally, Wagner’s face, over-exposed and distorted, is the only visual element. In an exercise of restraint, I tried to excise myself from the piece entirely. I have no personal identification with little girls or old women. Furthermore, everyone in my family loves Wagner.
Andrew,
I’m so glad I finally popped over to your blog to look at this. It was a real treat and surprise to see the piece as a whole, especially after hearing you talk about it in bits and pieces but never seeing the work-in-progress. I like the fairy tell-esque quality, and the simplicity of these two characters. It’s especially at odds with the Wagner I know, because though the music seems to be at the heart of this fable — driving, I’m guessing, the imagination of the girl and her grandmother — it’s ultimately a very quiet story. I’m thinking especially of the end of the video, when all we’re left with is this lovely tune — no images of Wagner, no text. This is no Flight of the Valkyries — and in that sense, you’ve involved the viewer, too, “infiltrating” (to borrow your words) our common beliefs about Wagner and his music.
I think your “exercise in restraint” ultimately works really well.
What is this song?
It is from the opening of Act III of Tristan und Isolde, when Tristan is awaiting Isolde. He hires a goat herder or something to play a sad tune when no ship is in sight, and a happy one when Isolde is spotted. The serpentine chromaticism is characteristic of this opera.