Audience engagement and immersion: the expanded narrative from the early works of La Monte Young and Terry Riley to the digital era

This investigation interprets the praxis of La Monte Young and Terry Riley’s early work during the 1960s to present both composers as pioneers of what we now consider immersive artistic practice. Through a consideration of multidisciplinary fields, and both composers’ innovative and engaging early works – which borrow much from the experimental, performative, and participative arts of the period – the subversion of the roles of audience and performer are placed within the concept of the ‘expanded narrative’. This expanded narrative is shown to demonstrate the relationship between an audience and an immersive artwork, which extends from the Wagnerian gesamtkunstwerk, and can be broken down into three elements – the active space, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and the active audience. Consideration is given to how advances in technology towards the end of the twentieth century led to new affordances in immersive experiences through the creation of new forms of active space, such as virtual reality, and collaborations at the intersection of art, design and technology. Through the analysis of three early works by both composers, this thesis evidences an investigation into two discrete areas within Minimalist music: the compositions themselves and their presentation/performance (the latter drawing parallels with the Minimalist artistic movement of the same time) – to contribute new knowledge on how the expanded narrative both facilitates an immersive experience and remains relevant today.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

PhD

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Wolverhampton

Year dc:date.issued

2022

Author dc:creator

• Mills, Joanne

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Glover, Richard

• audience engagement
• immersion
• expanded narrative
• minimalism
• digital

Statement dc:rights

• Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Licence

• https://wlv.dspace7.openrepository.com/bitstreams/9f957f6b-0ab9-405d-9337-1efda404fed5/download