JULY 2018 / the analogue tangibility of flexidiscs, floppy discs, minidiscs, cassettes, lengthways splicing, screenprinted sleeves, severed sleeves, limited editions, invisible CDs, piracy, anthropology, viruses, car accidents, fanzine staples and dubplates. Email alandunn44@gmail.com. Dr. Alan Dunn (b. 1967, Glasgow) studied at Glasgow School of Art and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He was curator of The Bellgrove Station Billboard Project (Glasgow 1990-91), lead artist on the tenantspin project (FACT, Liverpool 2001-7) and completed his PhD on sound art with the 10xCD opus The sounds of ideas forming described below. Through these projects Dunn has developed and shared collaborative content with Bill Drummond, Douglas Gordon, Yoko Ono, Philip Jeck, Pauline Oliveros and Brian Eno. He currently lives and works in Liverpool and is a Reader in Fine Art at Leeds Beckett University where he lectures on the MA Art & Design and BA Graphic Arts & Design courses. First record heard - The Beatles Something in the way (1971). Records most heard growing up - James Last, The Shadows, Duane Eddy, Lonnie Donegan, Abba and BBC Sound Effects. First records bought - Toyah and Otis Redding (1981). First gig - Cocteau Twins, Glasgow Empire (1983). Top four gigs - Einstürzende Neubauten (Chicago), Arab Strap (Bergen), The Ramones (Glasgow) and Melt Banana (Liverpool). Top four LPs - Guided by Voices Alien Lanes, Tricky Maxinquaye, Hüsker Dü Warehouse: Songs and Stories and Echo & The Bunnymen Ocean Rain.

The sounds of ideas forming (2008-14) was a PhD by publication exploring the relationship between sound art and the everyday. The submission consisted of ten CDs across seven editions of sound art. The accompanying 15,000 word text considered the recorded sounds from the perspectives of curating and pedagogy and in doing so, the research proposed a model for navigating through the excesses of available sounds and methodologies for working with sound within visual arts courses. The PhD included agreed content from Chris Watson, Bill Drummond, Lydia Lunch, Pixies, Andy Warhol Foundation, John Cage, Pauline Oliveros, Einstürzende Neubauten, Clinic, David Bowie, Brian Eno, Irina Ratushinskaya, Gerhard Richter, Jem Finer, George Brecht, Scanner, Carol Kaye, Marcel Duchamp, Paul Revere & The Raiders, Herbert Marcuse, Agnes Martin, Boo Radleys, Michelangelo Antonioni, The Ramonas and Diamanda Galas.

Before the sounds of ideas forming (2003-2008) was a series of audio sketches of anticipated sounds, constructing patinas of certain landmark compositions (Helikopter String Quartet, Gloomy Sunday, Metal Machine Music etc) based on reading about them before hearing them.

BACK