ABSTRACT
Beckett, while known for his animation and drawing, was also an avid guitar and banjo player, with a deep and close relationship to music. This chapter examines the evolution of Beckett’s soundtracks, as he moved toward making his own sound. It considers the audio structure of Flesh Flow, Sausage City, and Kitsch in Synch. Flesh Flows follows in the vein of the electroacoustic sound that Stone and Schrader had created on the Buchla 200 but was much more minimal, which is uncharacteristic of Beckett. In Sausage City, Beckett leaned on his expertise as a musician, working with a mysterious band “Brillo” to create the soundtrack. In 1975, he taught animation and optical printing there, taking over Pat O’Neill’s classes. His students include friends and peers, such as David Wilson, Peter Kuran, Mark Kirkland, and more. His final completed animation, Kitsch in Synch, was a production from these classes. His influence, his direction, and the collaborative spirit evidenced in both the chaotic imagery and the cacophonous sound track are discussed.
