LO 4: Sound Art

Luke Du Bois’s piece Pop Icon: Britney is a generative video with sound, meant to be displayed in a physical frame. It explores the definition of “icon” in relation to pop stars and the history of Catholicism. Du Bois strips away the instrumentals from her songs, leaving only her voice, which is then processed with the reverb from the famous San Vitale Basilica in Ravenna, Italy. Without this context, the audio sounds like an ephemeral, yet discordant wash of tones absent of any structure or tonality. Du Bois also emphasizes the extensive and relatively new use of Photoshop and Autotune that ruled Britney’s experience of music and fame.