There is something unequivocally human in Louvel’s work, centred around the voice and its manipulations” (…) “Armed with an algorithmic chisel and mallet, Louvel repurposes writings by the late English sculptor Barbara Hepworth”(…) “SculptOr is a highly conceptual and meta-referential piece, a sort of meditation on artistic practices”
‘Olivia Louvel SculptOr [Hepworth Resounds]’, Antonio Poscic, The Quietus, 10 March 2020 thequietus.com/articles/27903-sculptor-hepworth-resounds-olivia-louvel-review
“Louvel grants Hepworth’s reflections and insights fresh embodiment. In the process her own assumptions and practices as a contemporary artist in other media come under self-reflexive scrutiny.”
‘Olivia Louvel, SculptOr [Hepworth Resounds], Raymond Cummings, The Wire, [print], March 2020, issue 433, p.63.
‘Stuart chats to digital sound artist Olivia Louvel about a new compelling sculpture-inspired work.’ Stuart Maconie, Freak Zone, BBC Radio 6, 02 February 2020, www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000dzs9,
“That is the latest from Olivia Louvel who I always find so engaging. Data Regina was her last release a couple of years back, that was a multimedia piece exploring the lives of Mary Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I and it seems that the lives of strong women are her muse…This latest album ‘SculptOr’ uses the extensive writings of British Sculptor Barbara Hepworth as the basis for an almost tactile series of pieces”
Verity Sharp, Late Junction, BBC Radio 3. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000d8zw
Olivia Louvel works at the intersection of creation and documentation, often taking existing texts as a point of departure. Following the tapestry of interwoven tales that was ‘Data Regina’ (2017), ‘SculptOr’ is her most geometric work, a suite of nine pieces, using the words of the sculptor to weave and create an aural edifice.
For a project inspired by British sculptor Barbara Hepworth, it is appropriate that hers should be the opening voice on the album. In ‘Use Your Own Body’ Hepworth’s voice is re-sculpted in the first moments until handing over her text to the voice of Louvel for the remainder of the compositions. The physicality of sculpture and concrète sound is present throughout the album.
Louvel’s practice is built upon a long-standing exploration of the voice, sung or spoken, and its manipulation through digital technology thus expanding the plastic dimension of voice. Working with the software AudioSculpt (IRCAM) Louvel is sculpting the voice directly on its graphical representation, applying principles of sculpture to Hepworth’s voice to manipulate its texture. As the infrastructure of the Pompidou centre was laid bare so Olivia’s scalpel exposes the shifting fabric and textures of the creative method.
credits
released February 7, 2020
Composed, performed, produced and mixed by Olivia Louvel
Mix consulting, Paul Kendall
Mastering, Norscq
Design, Jesse Holborn
Studio facilities, Tin Foil Studio and DMSA, University of Brighton
PR: Ed Benndorf [email protected]
Thank you to the continued support from Sophie Bowness, trustee of the Hepworth Estate.
Thank you to DMSA, University of Brighton
