Audio Technology's Dissociative Effects on Self-Perception Explored Through Art History

Patrick Langley examines the alienation individuals experience from their own voices due to audio recording technology. In 1974, Richard Serra and Nancy Holt's performance 'Boomerang,' broadcast on Texas public television, features Holt speaking with a one-second delay, which disrupts her self-awareness. Langley reflects on feeling like an 'impostor child' when he first heard his recorded voice. Unlike natural echoes that foster joyful exchanges, recordings tend to eliminate lower frequencies, resulting in a higher-pitched sound. Lucretius associated echoes with political influence, while Ovid's tale of Echo offers a chilling perspective on voices outliving their physical forms. Artists from the late 1960s and 1970s, such as Bruce Nauman in 'Lip Sync,' delved into these concepts, a tradition continued by contemporary creators like Holly Herndon and Martine Syms, who blend voice and technology in today's cacophonous environment.