Anthony Discenza

A Viewing (The Effect)

A Viewing (The Effect) by Anthony Discenza is a continuous voiceover loop intended for presentation in a dedicated, light-and-acoustically controlled space. “The Effect” employs hundreds of fragments of text culled from the internet by searching for occurrences of the title phrase. These fragments, which all address visual scenarios, were sequenced and edited to create the impression of a single text; this was recorded as a voiceover and presented in an acoustically controlled space devoid of any visual information. Superficially, the spoken text seems to be a description of a sequence of imagery; however, because of the text’s composite nature, the precise etiology of this imagery is elusive. The smoothly modulated voice of the voiceover actor and repetition of the linking phrase function as formal devices, drawing listeners into a meditative space in which visually descriptive language is abstracted, becoming a scaffold for the construction of an internalized viewing experience.