Sonic memory material as 'pathetic trigger'

Memory, according to Henri Bergson, is gleaned from the
present and realises the present perception from its
sensory-motor elements through movements towards that
which it perceives.

The purpose of this article is to propose and debate the
deliberate use of such ‘present memory’ in the sonic artwork.

The suggestion is that sonic memory material – sounds that
are plundered from old recordings – can be collaged into
complex sonic works to produce, not a nostalgic experience
in the sense of a recognition of the past, but a current
production of sonic material in a continually present
perception. Such a production strategy employs the affective
quality of memory to ‘trigger’ a sensorial engagement in the
sense of a ‘pathetic’ engagement understood as an emotional
and sentimental involvement with the work. The
understanding is that such an emotional engagement involves
the listener centrally in the production of the artwork and
challenges modernist (visual) art discourses, which evaluate
the work from a distance.