Listening Before Knowing

Sound, Image and Shared Sensibility in Folklore of Influence

Abstract

This practice-based research paper presents Folklore of Influence: a Diptych, an approximately five-minute audiovisual work developed through collaboration between composer Lucas F. Jordan and multimedia artist Irene Ros. Ros created visual material in response to pre-existing music without first knowing the composer’s intentions or the meanings of lyrics - in Arabic and Brazilian Portuguese. When the artists later discussed their processes, they identified striking correspondences between the music’s and the film’s themes and concerns. Rather than presenting the results of a conventional academic study, the submission reflects on knowledge generated through practical artistic collaboration: composing, listening, making, editing and - only later - discussing the work. It considers how musical meaning may guide visual imagination beyond linguistic understanding - while remaining shaped by culturally situated listening. The screening is intended to open a conversation with artists and academics, offering questions and cues for future research rather than definitive findings.