ARTABLISM: When Scratch Becomes a Universal Language and a Visual Art
By Matthieu Crimersmois – visual artist and sound performer
The world of contemporary art is constantly evolving, but few approaches manage to bridge urban culture and the rigor of the visual arts with such intensity. With ARTABLISM, a concept I initiated in 2019, I aim to push beyond the boundaries between DJing, performative gesture, and visual experimentation.
My ambition is clear: to create an aesthetic of repurposed sound media, where every scratch becomes a form of writing, a language, and a work of art
History of Turntablism and Hip-Hop Origins
The turntablism movement was born in the Bronx in the 1970s with pioneers such as DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa. The scratch, discovered by Grand Wizard Theodore in 1975, quickly became an iconic hip-hop technique.
In the 1980s-1990s, DJs such as Qbert, Mix Master Mike and DJ Shadow elevated the practice to experimental and abstract art.
Scratch as Language of Memory and Political Act
For me, the vinyl record is a guardian of memory. Scratching an archive is not destruction, but revealing another truth.
The scratch is a marginal language, a “voice from the suburbs of music,” symbolic of exclusion but also reinvention. To transform sound into new creation is a political and rigorous gesture.
The Phonoptique: Making Scratch Visible (2004–2006)
Early on, I sought to translate the synesthesia I felt while scratching: body, soul and mind twisting into colors, lines and shapes.
This research led to the Phonoptique, a device conceived at the Beaux-Arts of Nantes. By connecting vinyl, pulleys and LED to photosensitive paper, I produced sinusoidal forms: a true visual writing of scratch.
This opened the way to a dictionary of scratch, inspired by Morse code.
From Analog to Digital: Etch-a-Scratch, Datablism and AI
- 2007 – Datablism: using motors and microcontrollers to send scratch gestures as data to Max/MSP.
- 2008 – Etch-a-Scratch (DRAWTABLISM): via Max/MSP/Jitter and Arduino, my movements on turntables became drawings on screen.
- 2023 – AI & Steganography: using AI (D-ID) to animate a photo with scratch, creating a synthetic dialogue. Integration of audio steganography to encode images in spectrograms (Vinyl Steganographic, 2024).
Artablism Today: A Living Laboratory
- Phototablism: scratching as real-time visual deformation via camera.
- Augmented Reality: linking Max/MSP and Blender to convert sound impulses into 3D forms.
- Plotters: transforming gestures into tangible graphic drawings.
Chronological Timeline – Scratch, Transcription and Artablism
1. Origins of Turntablism (1970s–1990s)
- 1973 – DJ Kool Herc invents breakbeat (Bronx).
- 1975 – Grand Wizard Theodore discovers scratch.
- 1980s–1990s – Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, Qbert & Mix Master Mike elevate scratch to experimental art.
2. Scratch Notation and Transcription (1997–2005)
- 1997 – John Carluccio creates first transcription sketches (X-ecutioners).
- 1998–2000 – With Ethan Imboden & DJ Raedawn, publication of TTM Vol.1.0.
- 2004–2005 – *Scratch Magazine* publishes TTM notations.
3. Contributions of Matthieu Crimersmois (2005–2025)
- 2005 – Scratch with mixer + finger-mounted needles → first body notations.
- 2006 – Phonoptique created: visual Morse-like transcription of gestures.
- 2007 – Launch of Phygitablism (hybrid analog/digital practice).
- 2008 – Etch-a-Scratch: scratch + drawing simultaneously (Zoogalerie, Scopitone).
- 2009 – DNSEP thesis: forging the term Artablism.
- 2013 – Performance & installation at 22.48 m² (Paris).
- 2015 – Québec Biennale of Contemporary Art – residence & exhibition.
- 2017 – Solo show #Macrosillion, Galerie BS, Paris (*Collapse of the probability wave*).
- 2018 – Performance at Le Cube (*Extended Score #2*).
- 2019 – Concept of Artablism presented at Sample Music Festival, Berlin.
- 2022 – Curating CT-2022-V1 Capsule Temporelle, Plateforme Paris.
- 2023 – Phygitablism, Antre Peaux + AI/steganography (*Vinyl Steganographic*).
- 2024 – Conference on Artablism, SMF Berlin. Exhibition ZOO / Plateforme Paris.
- 2025 – Ateliers Ouverts, Alsace. Workshops on AI, sound & image (Lille, Basel).
4. Software and Contemporary Tools (2019–2024)
- 2019 – Nicholas Caaris (NIKK-C) → concept of Datablism.
- 2021 – Sxratch Visualizer (public beta).
- 2024 – Scratch Session Labs releases Scratch Viewer Premium V2.0.1707.
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