Richard Erickson
A firefly displays light in intermittent bioluminescence. These slow motion sound structures incubate and release the energy of sound, attainable by the listener, perhaps when conscious of their convergent patterns.
Favorite track: on a continuous form 4.
Sound artist and composer Richard Chartier presents his first release on LINE in over three years. In this new four part work, 'on a continuous form', Chartier explores his minimalist sonic language. Detailed, subtle, and deep resonances suggested for headphone listening.
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In art, does the recycling of forms/sounds constitute a language, or a palette? Or are these one in the same? Repetition is part of our daily lives. Recurrence is commonality. Repeating sounds, musical phrases, and pauses all become ingrained.
Though a musician can and will revisit the same notes, the artist’s fear of repetition still exists. But in my work as a sound artist / composer, repetition is part of the language I create and utilize.
Spaces between sounds are part of that language, just as space between letterforms are part of language... a stop and start of symbols.
As I grow older, I return to sounds, diving deeper into them or re-contextualizing them, trying to further understand them. sounds within structures, structures within sounds…
All of an artist’s work is navigating on a continuous form that is the totality of their creations. Singular works are just part of greater whole, an extension of where I was then and where I am now.
these are spaces
continuations
passages.
a magnification
a fade in
a pause
we repeat
a palette is formed.
fade out
continue
resonating in repetition
—Richard Chartier, 2023
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Richard Chartier (b.1971) is a Los Angeles based artist / composer considered one of the key figures in minimalist sound art. Chartier’s works explore the inter-relationships between the spatial nature of sound, silence, focus, perception, and the act of listening.
Chartier’s critically acclaimed sound works have been published since 1998 on a variety of labels internationally including Room40 (Australia), Editions Mego (Austria), INA GRM (France), Important Records (US), Ash International / Touch (UK), mAtter (Japan), Raster-Noton (Germany), Spekk (Japan), Trente Oiseaux (Germany), NVO (Austria), 901editions (Italy), 12k (US), and his own imprint LINE (US).
He has collaborated with composer William Basinski, sound artists ELEH, France Jobin, Robert Curgenven, Taylor Deupree, AGF, CoH, Yann Novak, and German electronic music pioneer Asmus Tietchens. In installation form, he has created works with multimedia artists Evelina Domnitch and Dmitry Gelfand, visual artist Linn Meyers, and projected light artist Anthony McCall. As his project Pinkcourtesyphone he has collaborated with Cosey Fanni Tutti, Kid Congo Powers, harpist Gwyneth Wentink, AGF, and thereminist Evelina Domnitch.
Chartier’s sound works/installations have been presented in museums and galleries internationally including the Whitney Biennial and the influential sound art exhibit ‘Sounding Spaces’ at NTT/ICC in Tokyo. His performances have occurred live across Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America.
Since 2000, Chartier has curated his influential recording label LINE, publishing over 140 editions documenting the compositional and installation work of international sound and video artists who explore the aesthetics of contemporary minimalism.
credits
released July 14, 2023
formed and recorded 2021-2023.
cover by Richard Chartier
thank you to Robert Gerald Pietrusko and Lawrence English
Richard Chartier's LINE publishes editions documenting compositional & installation works by international sound artists & composers exploring the aesthetics of minimalism.
supported by 41 fans who also own “on a continuous form”
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