creative (mis)understandings - Methodologies of Inspiration by Zheng Kuo

This project aims to develop transcultural approaches of inspiration (which we regard as mutually appreciated intentional and reciprocal artistic influence based on solidarity) by combining approaches from contemporary music composition and improvisation with ethnomusicological and sociological research. We encourage creative (mis)understandings emerging from the interaction between research and artistic practice, and between European art music, folk and non-western styles, in particular from indigenous minorities in Taiwan. Both comprehension and incomprehension yield serendipity and inspiration for new research questions, innovative artistic creation, and applied follow-ups among non-western communities. The project departs from two premises: first, that contemporary western art music as a practice often tends to resort to certain degrees of elitism; and second, that non-western musical knowledge is often either ignored or merely exploited when it comes to compositional inspiration. We do not regard inspiration as unidirectional, an “input” like recording or downloading material for artistic use. Instead, we foster artistic interaction by promoting dialogical and distributed knowledge production in musical encounters. Developing interdisciplinary and transcultural methodologies of musical creation will contribute on the one hand towards opening up the—rightly or wrongly supposed—“ivory tower of contemporary composition”, and on the other hand will contribute towards the recognition of the artistic value of non-western musical practices. By highlighting the reciprocal nature of inspiration, creative (mis)understandings will result in socially relevant and innovative methodologies for creating and disseminating music with meaning. The methods applied in the proposed project will start out from ethnographic evidence that people living in non-western or traditional societies often use methods of knowledge production within the sonic domain which are commonly unaddressed or even unknown among western contemporary music composers (aside from exotist or orientalistic appropriations of “the other”). The project is designed in four stages: field research and interaction with indigenous communities in Taiwan with a focus on the Tao people on Lanyu Island, collaborative workshops in Vienna, an artistic research and training phase with invited indigenous Taiwanese coaches in Vienna, and feeding back to the field in Taiwan. During all these stages, exchange and coordination between composers, music makers, scholars and source community experts will be essential in order to reflect not only on the creative process, but also to analyse and support strong interaction between creation and society. Re-interaction with source communities as well as audience participation in the widest sense will help to increase the social relevance of the artistic results. The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (MDW) will host the project. The contributors are Johannes Kretz (project leader) and Wei-Ya Lin (project co-leader, senior investigator) with their team of seven composers, ten artistic research partners from Taiwan and six artistic and academic consultants with extensive experience in the relevant fields.

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Wolgang Liebhart

creative (mis)understandings - creative research as a (learning) process

My personal motivation and experience in connection with the project mentioned above should be briefly outlined here. Two approaches in the field of music ethnology were crucial to join the team at c(m)u.

The main driving force was and is a fundamental interest in not only new sound worlds but to me unknown cultures in a general sense. I look back to my trip in 2008 to Lanyu Island with the Tao, one of Taiwan's 16 indigenous minorities, when I first immersed in their culture, which was completely unknown to me at the time, what a happy coincidence. During my first stay on Orchid Island, my focus was primarily on audio and video recordings of traditional Tao songs. This activity was also very inspiring for me as a composer, as some works were later created, in which in particular the microtonal melody of the Tao chants was incorporated. Parallel to the artistic-creative aspect, personal contacts and friendly relationships with the Tao themselves developed, which were then intensified by the fact that I had the rare opportunity to spend a few nights in a hut in the old, traditional part of the village of Ivalino. This „accidental“ field research also brought me closer to the elderly, who already provided me with audio and video material, and gave me a little insight into their everyday way of life.

Four years later, in 2012, the (electronic-experimental) musical work with some young people from the village of Ivalino resulted in a completely different approach. Namely, what significance and impact have (musical / cultural) influences from outside on their own culture and how to deal with them. Do you reflect on your own traditions and are you able or willing to give them new perspectives or do they degenerate into mere folklore-colored, museum-based stereotypes?

This thought process remains unlimited in time and is also perceived, interpreted and lived differently by the different generations. In addition to cultural and social considerations, during my third and longest stay in Lanyu, this time in the village of Iraraley, this generational heterogeneous perception of socio-cultural developments provided sufficient material for numerous discussion. It is always a personal challenge to remain the objectively observing field researcher/artist in certain situations.

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