Richard Wagner coined the term gesamtkunstwerk in his 1849 essay, Art and Revolution, to express his concept of a complete artwork. By this he meant an operatic performance that integrated music, theater and the visual arts. Today we call that multimedia.
But as usual with Wagner, gesamtkunstwerk had a multifaceted meaning for him. Gesamtkunstwerk meant more than incorporating various forms of artistic expression. Wagner, like his peer, Friedrich Nietzsche, saw that humanity was becoming a specialized creature. Wagner believed we compartmentalized our capacity for art, religion, philosophy and science and sought to return humanity to a so-called golden age where all those things were unified. The only way Wagner could possibly express this in the framework of opera was through music, theater and the visual arts.
Since Wagner you could argue that even though we now consume and produce vast quantities of media we have become even more specialized. Today we take multimedia for granted. It’s like air. We can watch a music video on our iPhone on the way to work that’s crammed with dancing, singing and special effects. Entertaining for sure, but nothing that combines all that to express and invoke the gestalt Wagner was striving for.
William Morrison and Justin Bennett are currently touring the U.S. with American Memory, an ambitions multimedia project. American Memory tells the story of artists in a far flung future who discover the American Memory Archive on the net. Intrigued but with no historical context to understand what they have found they broadcast their surrealistic impressions back through time.
Justin and William’s gesamtkunstwerk approach of merge and recontextualize music, text, interviews, speeches, photography and film may be the best way to explore the multilayered history of America.
Errata
Justin and William sent the audio files at 24 bit at 48k I played on this week’s show. When I dropped the tracks into Garaband they played at a slower rate. I failed to notice my error until William and Justin brought it to my attention.My sincere apologies to Justin and William. I hope to have them back on the show when the American Memory DVD is released. I can play more music from American Memory but this time at the correct speed.
- American Memory “American Memory Trailer”
- American Memory “Artifacts”
- American Memory “Dear Mr President”
- American Memory “Backwards Song”
- American Memory “Ghost Dance”
- American Memory “Time Don’t Steal”
- Interview with William Morrison and Justin Bennett of American Memory
- Stephan Mathieu “Lux-Scn”
- Al Margolis “Frog Field”