For the Typology Project, I plan on creating a system that collects the amount of saliva produced from a black body while performing black music. For the purpose of this project, black music refers to songs created by black artists, rather than black dominated genres. The song selections will range from the years of ~1840 to 2019. The pieces chosen will be songs (negro spirituals, gospels, popular music, etc.) created to uplift spirits during times of oppression. The intention of the project is to combine black DNA with black history and identity.
The capture system will include gauze, a digital scale, and vials. The gauze will act as an artificial tongue and will absorb the saliva created during each performance. If the gauze gets too damp, it will get switched out mid performance. The gauze will be weighed before and after being used; and, the same amount of saliva will go in a vial to “document” the data produced. Alternatively, a pipette and/or container will be on hand to capture excess saliva. This action may be performed 20 or more times.