Becoming Audible: Sounding Animality in Performance

Becoming Audible investigates the phenomenon of human and animal acoustic entanglements in art and performance practices, focusing on the work of artists who explore the spaces between species. It employs Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattaris concept of becoming-animal, Donna Haraways definitions of multispecies becoming-with, and Mladen Dolars ideas of voice-as-object to frame its analysis. The book demonstrates that sounding animality in performance resonates through the labyrinths of the cultural and the creatural, across species and beyond the limits of the human.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 200 pages
Publication date: 24 October 2023
Publisher: Pennsylvania State University Press

Becoming Audible delves into the captivating phenomenon of human and animal acoustic entanglements in art and performance practices. Focusing on the innovative work of artists who explore the spaces between species, Austin McQuinn uncovers the profound significance of sounding animality in establishing a vital connection to the creatural realm. To provide a framework for his analysis, McQuinn draws upon the concepts of becoming-animal proposed by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, as well as the definitions of multispecies becoming-with offered by Donna Haraway. Additionally, he incorporates Mladen Dolars ideas of voice-as-object to enrich his perspective.

McQuinn examines the captivating world of birdsong in the artistic creations of Beatrice Harrison, Olivier Messiaen, Céleste Boursier-Mougenot, Daniela Cattivelli, and Marcus Coates. He also explores the poignant portrayal of the canine voice as a sacrificial lab animal in Alexander Raskatov's operatic work. Furthermore, he delves into the intricate hierarchies of vocalization observed in human-simian cultural coevolution through theatrical adaptations of Franz Kafka and Eugene ONeill. Additionally, he investigates the acoustic exchanges among hybrid human-animal creations in Harrison Birtwistles opera, The Minotaur.

McQuinn's work is inspired by the operatic voice and draws from a diverse range of fields, including art and performance studies, animal studies, zooarchaeology, social and cultural anthropology, and philosophy. Through his meticulous research and insightful interpretations, McQuinn demonstrates that sounding animality in performance transcends species boundaries and resonates within the labyrinths of both cultural and creatural realms. This volume is both timely and provocative, offering new methods for unsettling human exceptionalism during an era of urgent reevaluation of interspecies relations. Students and scholars engaged in the fields of human-animal studies, performance studies, and art history, particularly those working at the intersection of human and animal, will find Becoming Audible to be an enlightening and enriching resource.

Weight: 326g
Dimension: 152 x 228 x 16 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780271087979