Art and Sonic Mining in the Archives: Methods for Investigating the Wartime History of Birmingham School of Art

Jul 9, 2026

Upload by Jiven

Absconditi Viscus (or Hidden Entries) is a series of sound compositions built from the history of Birmingham School of Art during the First World War. Sound artist Justin Wiggan frames potentially lost historical sonic information as still able to permeate the archival record and the school building. Each piece is synchronized with brainwave frequencies to stimulate listener brain activity, aiming to connect people with the period, place, and emotional impact of the war. The experimental, potentially controversial approach reframes phonic excavations and sonic mining as methods for reconsidering affect and the archival record within the history of education.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

Abstract

Introduction

Artists and Archives: Creative Practice as Method

History of Education Journal of the History of Education Society ISSN: 0046-760X (Print) 1464-5130 (Online) Journal homepage: [http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/thed20](http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/thed20) Art and sonic mining in the archives: methods for investigating the wartime history of Birmingham School of Art Sian Vaughan To cite this article: Sian Vaughan (2018) Art and sonic mining in the archives: methods for investigating the wartime history of Birmingham School of Art, History of Education, 47:2, 225-240, DOI: 10. 1080/0046760X.2017.1420244 To link to this article: [https://doi.org/10.1080/0046760X.2017.1420244](https://doi.org/10.1080/0046760X.2017.1420244) Published online: 17 Jan 2018. | Submit your article to this journal | | --- | | Article views: 35 | | View related articles | | View Crossmark data | Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at [http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=thed20](http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=thed20) Art and sonic mining in the archives: methods for investigating the wartime history of Birmingham School of Art Sian Vaughan school of art, Birmingham city university, Birmingham, uK ABSTRACT Absconditi Viscus (or Hidden Entries) is a series of sound compositions based on the history of Birmingham School of Art during the First World War. Sound artist Justin Wiggan explored the concept of historical sonic information that although lost could still potentially permeate the archival record and the fabric of the school building. Each sound piece has also been synchronised with brainwave frequencies in order to stimulate a listener’s brain activity in an attempt to connect them with the time period, the physical building and the emotional impact of the war. This creative, experimental – and potentially controversial – assertion of phonic excavations and sonic mining as method challenges us to rethink both affect and the archival record in relation to the history of education. Introduction ARTICLE HISTORY received 17 March 2017 accepted 14 december 2017 KEYWORDS art; archives; sound; first WorldWar Absconditi Viscus by sound artist Justin Wiggan is a series of sound compositions based on the history of Birmingham School of Art during the First World War. As an artist’s creative engagement with a historical archive, it can be situated as part ofa growing practice in contemporary art. As an art project centred on the concept of sonic mining, it has prompted me to rethink the nature of the archival record in relation to the history of art education and the relationships between affect, archive, historiography and history. Unapologetically, it is this methodological aspect of the project that this paper discusses rather than the history of the impact of the First World War on the School. Archives and archival research are arguably the mainstay of history, and for the history of education it is often to the school log books, textbooks, newspaper reports and committee papers that historians turn as the textual, written documentary records of past educational practices and histories. Visual sources in the archives may also be consulted, for example through photographs of pupils, teachers and classes in action. For the history of art education the archival sources available to the historian have also included children’s and students’ drawings and sketches, even artefacts CONTACT sian Vaughan [sian.Vaughan@bcu.ac.uk](sian.Vaughan@bcu.ac.uk) © 2018 informa uK Limited, trading as taylor & francis Group 226 S. VAUGHAN created in, or for, classes. However, in addition to the growing emphasis on non-textual sources1 and in the context of the emergence of a field of sensory history,2 what might it mean for our understanding of education to consider its sonic history? Can historians mine the archives for the sound of educational experiences past in the same way as an artist?

FAQs

What is Absconditi Viscus, and what historical source does it draw on?

Absconditi Viscus is a series of sound compositions based on the history of Birmingham School of Art during the First World War.

How does the project connect the sound pieces to the wartime period and audience?

Each sound piece is synchronized with brainwave frequencies to stimulate listener brain activity, aiming to link the listener to the time period, the physical school building, and the war’s emotional impact.

Why does the paper focus on methodological questions rather than the war’s impact on the school?

The author emphasizes the project’s methodological aspect, discussing how sonic mining challenges conventional ideas about how archives represent education history and how affect relates to archival practice and historiography.

Jul 9, 2026

Upload by Jiven