[Synapse elist] elist Digest, Vol 7, Issue 4

[Jonrose19 at aol.com]

Hi all map people… and I particularly enjoyed the farming rave and response,

Greetings from the Mexico/USA border fence, parts of which we have been 
mapping in the last week…and it concentrates the mapping mind when you are being 
buzzed by hoons in helicopters and the fatuous border patrol. 

As part of my work I've been making audio maps with fences (by playing them) 
since 1983, and making an audio-visual map of many parts of Australia since 
2002 (when I returned to live there for that very reason). 

I use the word “mapping” for this kind of performing activity for good 
reason. A map for me is a conduit through which you can connect directly with the 
physical environment - whether it be on a massive scale such as the continent 
of Australia or on the very personal level of your own body. GPS may help to 
pinpoint better where you are as you look at the physical reality but I don't 
think it helps you be in it. And being in it is probably the basic desire of all 
mapping - to belong, to be a part of it, to morph into a reality that is a 
reciprocal continuum, to understand yourself and your place better by indicators 
that oscillate - pointing both ways.

That's what is so beautiful about Aboriginal painting - in general it is a 
mapping tool and measured objectivity has little to do with. It's an expression 
of connection - rocks, rivers, fauna, etc - an extended elastic genetic 
family. The map means you are there, you're living in it, you get it. 

For those who might want to look at an alternative map of a generally 
accepted image (the map of Australia) and don't know of its existence, I thoroughly 
recommend the Aboriginal Map of Australia - originally a bi-centenary project.
http://www.decs.
sa.gov.au/corporate/files/pages/aboriginal_aust/ab_aust_full.pdf

 The notion of empty Australia is wiped away.

So how does a fence, set in its place for arbitrary reasons of colonial greed 
and ownership, ring out the true nature of the referent? By treating the 
fence as a musical instrument, you come to a confrontational performance 
impossible to replicate in any other way. Sound drawing a precise geographical map. 
Following the line and sound of a fence involves eye watering heat, countless 
aggressive flies, dust storms, some of the planet's most deadly snakes - and 
that's all before you play a note .

Follow the fences - first you'll get the history lesson, then as the climate 
speedily reclaims the land, all the signposts of a post modern existence 
reveal themselves.

Jon Rose
www.jonroseweb.com/f_projects_great_fences.html
www.jonroseweb.com/f_projects_israel_fences.html
www.jonroseweb.com/f_projects_mexico-usa.html





Listen as Jon Rose improvises a new solo part for the Tchaikovsky Violin 
Concerto with Ilan Volkov and The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra 4/10/2006
http://www.jonroseweb.com/c_articles_tchaikovsky.html

jonrose19 at aol.com
www.jonroseweb.com
57 B Chaseling Avenue
Springwood
NSW 2777
Australia
+61 2 4751 9807
+61 4 0509 9445



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