Meet the 2023 Fellows: Rachel Austin
Published on July 24, 2023. Interview by 2023 Summer Intern, Rachel McGinnis.
Queering the lines between singer, improviser, and performance artist, Rachel Austin balances playfulness with obsession. During their 2023 New City Arts Fellowship, Rachel recorded and created a sound composition using the pitches that are most common in the Visible Records building, and concluded with an interactive performance on empathy.
First, the most important question: What food would you reach for first in a food fight and why?
Oooh, big question! I feel like pudding because it gets me messy as I throw it at someone else.
How did you interpret the theme “soft spot” and how do you see it realized in what you’ve produced for this exhibition?
When I think about soft spots, I think about either points of sensitivity or those soft underbellies our animals have. In thinking about that in relation to the show, I realized there are sonic soft spots everywhere we go. The size of every space, structure, body determines the frequencies that resonate more strongly in them. So for this piece, which I've been calling "Finding Space in the Hardness", I was curious about how doing a vocal score would ignite the space of Visible Records when played back over and over. And I'll be honest -- there were some real dominant frequencies, especially resonating through the metal stairways and the open studio rooms. If you listen in, you can hear some whirling frequencies. And sometimes those dominant frequencies come to the fore in the piece due to the singers' voices hitting those notes.
Image 1: the original recording with the singers at Visible Records, made during Rachel’s Fellowship earlier this year. The left to right is the time and bottom to top is the the pitch or frequency. Image 2: the text score, “Pools and Cascades”, used during the recording. Image 3: “Resonance 6” is the final re-recording; you can see how so many of the frequencies have disappeared throughout the re-recording process.
How would you describe your experience as an Artist Fellow with New City Arts?
It's been wonderful to have like a backup team throughout this time. I'm really going to miss it! Even if I had a question about resources for another project, New City Arts has been a great sounding board. Also, I've been curious about my fellow fellows. It's been great forging some connections there and getting to know the work of other thinking-artists.
How has Charlottesville impacted your artistic work and life as an artist?
I've definitely felt an open YES to what I do. It's been a huge relief as I just moved back to the area after several years away, or kind of in and out of the area as I finished my MFA during the pandemic. I've been really positively surprised and have actually felt I've had the space to grow in ways that I've needed to. Basically, I've found resources here that I've been looking/longing for for sometime.
What motivates you to produce art?
I don’t know, honestly. Cos I like doing it?
What do you love most about your work?
I love what I learn about each space that I perform or record. I learn about the emotional atmosphere, where the people are at, and what people need. I really love performing and making music for that reason! Connection and offering what I have...
What do you do for rest?
I love reading! I get physical, emotional, and mental rest in a good novel. I also love playing with my cat, going for hikes, and making jokes with my partner.
What is your dream project?
I think my dream project would be living on a rolling hilled farm where I create music and theatrical work with a collective and then going out and gently touring – with a bunch of time at home in between tours to remember what’s important. Lots of big costumes and absurdity, at least one amazing drummer, and person to take over the tech side of my performance. I’m really longing for that community.
The New City Arts Fellowship creates space, time, and financial support for Charlottesville-area artists to make work in response to an annual open call and proposal theme. At the conclusion of the fellowship, work created by each Artist Fellow is presented in a group exhibition. This year’s theme is entitled Soft Spot by Marisa Williamson. This open call invited artists to consider the ways their work reveals unseen openings, sites of ongoing growth, unfused structures, and delicate parts that require gentleness and care. Artists spent their creative fellowship developing their interpretations of their soft spots, and shared the products of that work in the group exhibition.
