Artist Talk: Glen Wilson, “Dub Plates: Activating and Amplifying Space”

Glen Wilson’s(opens in new tab) works ask us to think about the ways in which we activate and amplify space. For example, how do the people and objects that occupy a space give meaning to that space? How much say do the people outside that space have in defining that space? How do we decide the boundaries of a space as well as its use and exchange values? To address such questions, Wilson employs what can be described as a dub aesthetic, a creative approach that draws up dub music’s sonic vibrations and aesthetic form. A child of roots Reggae music, a dub track is a “version” of an existing song, usually instrumental, in which the drums and bass of the song are amplified. Thus, a dub track’s sonic quality is the heartbeat frequency produced by the amplification of the drum and bass, which Wilson views as the moment when “a drum … sounds more than percussion.” Like the early dub producers who had to repurpose the technology available to them to produce dub music’s sonic frequencies, Wilson’s photographic work and filmmaking demonstrate the ways in which the camera can be repurposed to amplify the people and objects occupying a space. At the same time, as represented by his works of sculpture, assemblage and installation, a dub aesthetic, like a dub track, requires a work of art to activate the space that it occupies.

Wilson’s lecture will discuss the various creative and intellectual concepts that have influenced his dub aesthetic and how that aesthetic has allowed him to think about the difficulties, rewards and implications of amplifying and activating space through sound and imagery. Given that Wilson’s aesthetic has been shaped by scholarly discussions in art history, film, photography, urban studies, music and African and African American studies, Wilson’s lecture will offer the UGA community a real-life example of the inherent interdisciplinarity of the arts and humanities.

Hosted by Dr. Jerry Rafiki Jenkins, assistant director, University of Georgia Institute for African American Studies(opens in new tab)

Supported by the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts(opens in new tab)