2012
In his 2012 essay "Lowercase Strategies in Public Sound Art: Celebrating the Transient Audience," Peter Batchelor explores works that engage the public through "lowercase" or understated interventions rather than imposing loud or disruptive sounds.
Batchelor uses the work of Max Neuhaus to illustrate how sound art can function at the threshold of perception, transforming a "transient" passerby into an "unwitting" yet engaged audience member.
Key Themes and Analysis of Max Neuhaus
Batchelor focuses on Neuhaus's ability to manipulate a listener's awareness through subtlety and silence:
The "Moment" of Stillness: Batchelor highlights Neuhaus’s concept of the "moment"—a sudden shift in consciousness that occurs when a background sound is abruptly removed. He cites Neuhaus’s observation that while a continuous machine noise in a café might go unnoticed, its sudden cessation creates a "huge silence" that envelopes the space and triggers immediate awareness.
Time Piece Graz (2003): This specific work is used as a primary example of a "lowercase" strategy. Installed in Graz, Austria, it consists of a sound that is imperceptibly introduced ten minutes before each hour and then suddenly cut off. Batchelor argues this "absence of sound" is more effective at entering the consciousness of passers-by than an explicit signal, making them an audience "almost in retrospect".
Invitation vs. Imposition: Neuhaus is framed as a pioneer of works that invite dialogue with a site’s existing characteristics. By avoiding traditional musical climaxes or high volumes, his work allows the sonic environment to reveal itself as a continuation of the artistic performance.
Readiness of Listening: Batchelor posits that Neuhaus’s interventions instill a "readiness of listening". This sensitivity encourages the public to perceive the city’s inherent acoustic values long after the specific artwork has finished.
The essay was originally presented at the Music, Technology & Innovation Research Centre at De Montfort University and was later published in the journal Organised Sound in 2013.