Andra McCartney
Associate professor
BA, Cultural Studies, Trent University
MA, Adult Education, St. Francis Xavier University
PhD, Music, York University
December 2009: Journées sonores: canal de Lachine remix.
November 2009: La Semaine du son soundwalks.
Soundwalk artist and researcher.
Since the mid 1990s, I have been developing an approach to the creation of electroacoustic soundwalk art which features reflexivity studies as an important aspect of the work, integrating audience responses into the creative development of walks and installations. Through my background in ethnomusicology, communication, and cultural studies, I think and write about electroacoustic, sound art and sound recording fields as cultures, considering what kinds of interpretive routines are acceptable within these disciplines, and how aesthetic and professional discourses are established. I use reflexivity studies as one element in an analytical toolbox that also includes gestalt analysis influenced by composer and theorist James Tenney, discourse analysis of texts and CD productions, and participant observation through my role as a sound artist, as a way to understand how these sub-cultures function. I employ these insights in the creation of conceptual interactive sound work that investigates how artists, audiences, and apparati such as technologies and discourses, interact dialogically. My work transforms soundwalk experiences into interactive installations, produced collaboratively in recent years with interactive artist Don Sinclair, Professor of Fine Arts at York University in Toronto. I am especially interested in questions of gender in relation to sound technologies. I have written most extensively about Vancouver soundscape composer, Hildegard Westerkamp. The In and Out of the Sound Studio research project investigates the working practices of soundmakers from a range of different professions, focusing particularly on the work of prominent women soundmakers.
Recent publications and installations:
Artist in residence, New Adventures in Sound Art, Deep Wireless. May 2009. Also commissioned to create a sound art piece for CBC Outfront, called 'Eavesdropping on the Waterfront,' based on elements of the soundtrack from Liz Miller's documentary.
McCartney, Andra. "Reception and Reflexivity in Electroacoustic Creation.". Musique concrete, 60 ans plus tard. Proceedings of the Electroacoustic Music Studies network EMS 08 conference, Paris, June 2008. Edited by Olivier Baudoin. 2009.
Commission from Artengine, Ottawa, for their show Superfan. Toronto-Norwood-Toronto, an interactive artwork by Andra McCartney and Don Sinclair, based on music by Rainer Wiens. March 2008.
McCartney, Andra. Canal de Lachine. espaceSONO::audio.lab. Société des Arts Technologiques. Montreal, September-October 2007.
McCartney, Andra. "Gender, genre, and electroacoustic soundmaking practices." Intersections Canadian Journal of Music 26 (2). Toronto: Canadian University Music Society, 2006: 20-48.
McCartney, Andra, and Ellen Waterman. "In and Out of the Sound Studio." Editorial. Intersections Canadian Journal of Music 26 (2). Toronto: Canadian University Music Society, 2006: 3-19.
McCartney, Andra. "Performing soundwalks for Journees Sonores, canal de Lachine." Performing nature: Explorations in Ecology and the Arts. Edited by Gabriella Giannachi and Nigel Stewart. Bern, Switzerland: Peter Lang. 2005: 217-234.
McCartney, Andra. "Soundscape works, listening and the touch of sound." Aural Cultures. Edited by Jim Drobnick. Toronto, ON: YYZ: 2004: 179-185.
McCartney, Andra. "Municipal pier Lachine 2001." Deep Wireless CD. Toronto: New Adventures in Sound Art, 2004.
McCartney, Andra. Journees Sonores, canal de Lachine.
Musee de Lachine, QC. Sept 13 - Dec. 14, 2003. Interactive installation with Don Sinclair, public soundwalks, and micro-radio broadcast with Anna Friz.
Drake hotel, Deep Wireless Festival, Toronto, ON. May 1-31, 2006. Interactive installation with Don Sinclair, public soundwalks and listening workshops.
Recently completed graduate supervisions:
Owen Chapman, PhD. September 2007. Cultural, philosophical and creative implications of digital sound technology.
Charlene Vacon, PhD. March 2007. Eating Acadian: culture and tourism in Nova Scotia’s Acadian restaurants.
Sam Thulin. MA. September 2009. There to Hear: Placing Mobile Music.
Andrea Jane Cornell. MA. April 2009. In Search of the Sharawadji Effect: Study of a Train Corridor.
Mark Harris, MA. August 2008. Sexuality and gender in vocal music.
Bernadette Houde, MA. May 2008. Re-constituting Lesbian Concentrate.
Lisa Gasior. MA. August 2007. Sounding Griffintown: A Listening Guide of a Montreal Neighbourhood.
Yassin Alsalman, MA. September 2007. Fear of an Arab planet: The diatribe of a dying tribe.
Charles Brooks, MA. September 2007. Baggage of Allusion: A Methodological Inquiry into Documenting Malagasy Oral Tradition.
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