It is common knowledge that ‘-graphy‘ is used in nouns to denote a style or method of drawing (such as calligraphy) and in a descriptive science (for example geography). The originates from or is suggested by the Greek word -graphia, ‘writing’.
More interesting from the point of view of this blog, and indeed the installation, is the denotation related to a technique of producing images (think ‘radiography’. Thus, audiography suggest a way to produce images with the support of sound, be it voice, music or a sound effect. Indeed, the word, even if a neologism in this sense, has some precursors:
Audiography can be found within Indian-style filmmaking, and refers to the audio engineering performed by the sound department of a film or TV production. This engineering includes sound recording, editing, mixing and sound design.
Another use is quaint: it was a teleconferencing system or technology enabling each user to send and receive images as well as sound. The termn originates from the 1970s.
In this context and novel use, the audio attribute works paradoxically in two directions in relation to the image it accompanies: while it may enhance the experience of viewing the image, it simultaneously underscores elements missing from the image. Thus, it points at the powerlessness, the impotence, of the image in itself.
The tag line of this blog and audiographic images is: Listen to see. In order to see what is behind the image surface one has to pay attention to the sound.
