The Voice of Blindness
The Voice of Blindness
On the Sound Tactics of Tran T. Kim-Trang’s the Blindness Series
This chapter explores the audio elements in Vietnamese American video artist Tran T. Kim-Trang’s The Blindness Series (1992–2006), a collection of eight experimental single-channel videotapes. The voice-over narration emerges as one of The Blindness Series’ central audio devices. Tran’s use of voice is examined through two theoretical frameworks: voice as a metaphor for subjectivity and voice in its materiality. These frameworks are discussed by focusing on two of the videos in the series: Kore (1994) and Ekleipsis (1998). The chapter argues that the many voices within The Blindness Series, both metaphorical and material, speak to the limitations of visuality. Speaking in many tongues and sometimes in the nonverbal diction of whispers, groans, and cries, these voices speak about what is outside visual representation.
Keywords: video art, sound, audio, video artist, blindness, visuality, metaphor, subjectivity, materiality
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