The Placement of Sound in Artistic Contexts (original) (raw)
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Music, Space and Theatre: Site-specific approaches to multichannel spatialisation
Organised Sound, 2010
"Approaches to the multichannel spatialisation of electroacoustic music are described here with reference to musical case studies which focus upon the expressive functions of space and the theatricality of sound diffusion in an acousmatic context. A site-specific approach to spatialisation is proposed to enhance theatrical aspects of musical performance. Case studies include proposals for novel layouts of the diffusion system within the performance space and compositional techniques that are designed to re-evaluate our understanding of individual listening spaces."
Sound and media installations are rarely considered from a time-based, formal perspective. In order to enable a greater understanding of temporal form in sound installations, I suggest a cross-disciplinary adaptation of musical form to the installation context. Due to the differences between concert and installation presentation practices – including, but not limited to, the increased agency of the mobile visitor – I re-examine form in installation contexts as the particular temporal experience co-produced by the first-person subject as they navigate in, through and out of the work’s frame. By applying this musical perspective to macro-scale formal structures, a set of tools and concepts become available for the analysis of temporal form in existing sound or audiovisual installations. Using practice-based observation and analysis, I describe several compositional strategies through which musical concepts of material and form can be extended in space and time: each of these strategies provides means with which to shape or constrain the visitor’s co-production of experiential form. Finally, I discuss several strategies that can be used for the creation of large-scale form, with particular reference to algorithmic design principles used in my recent audiovisual installation, Room Dynamics.
Music, Space & Theatre: Site-specific approaches to multichannel spatialisation
Approaches to the multichannel spatialisation of electroacoustic music are described here with reference to musical case studies which focus upon the expressive functions of space and the theatricality of sound diffusion in an acousmatic context. A site-specific approach to spatialisation is proposed to enhance theatrical aspects of musical performance. Case studies include proposals for novel layouts of the diffusion system within the performance space and compositional techniques that are designed to re-evaluate our understanding of individual listening spaces.
Reconstructing atmospheres: Ambient sound in film and media production
Communication and the Public, SAGE Publication. , 2017
In film and media production, ambient sound is a standard term that denotes the site-specific background sound component providing locational atmospheres and spatial information of public places. In this article, the specific role of ambient sound to create the context for the spatial experience in film and media production has been thoroughly examined in the light of Sound Studies. The article investigates the capacity of ambient sounds to sculpt the presence of a site by producing an embodied experience of the site. The article brings in a much-needed focus on the complex relationship between sound and site by examining the spatial environments recorded, mediated, and reconstructed by sound practice. Guided by the production studies of sound, the article draws on the theories of diegesis, mimesis, and presence to reformulate the notion of the soundscape while keeping a conceptual base in phenomenology of sound in analyzing the spatial and atmospheric listening experience. The article cites examples from representative Indian films and few of my own sound artworks as case studies to make critical listening and analysis of the processes through which ambient sound practice enhances the spatial and atmospheric sensations. The article draws insights from prominent sound practitioners in the form of long interviews conducted by me over several years and self-reflective insights on my own work. The practice-led inputs make the empirical basis of the article shedding light on the production processes providing links between certain techniques available to specific phases of sound production and aesthetic principles shaped by the respective phases of practice with ambient sounds. The article locates a distinct shift occurring through these trajectories of sound practice and relates this shift to the recent “spatial turn” in Sound Studies, making valuable contributions to the field interested to inquire about the emerging spatiality and public-ness in sound artworks.
Sound installation: Blurring the boundaries of the Eye, the Ear, Space and Time
Contemporary Music Review, 2006
Sound installation interfaces musical and visual art through time and space. It is a sonic intermedia practice, which blurs the boundaries of the visual and aural and includes the spatial, the temporal and the haptic. Since 1977 I have been designing sound installations that merge the senses, offering unique experiences for the listener as participating auditor. In the discussion of several of these works the conceptual considerations in the design of cross-disciplinary works are addressed. These include the parameters derived from the disciplines of sculpture, sound, temporal composition, spatial architecture and audience interactivity. Some works merge many interdisciplinary elements such as sculptural forms, video, photography, radio and performance as well as sound, while others may appear almost invisible. The degree of musical composition and sound design features vary from work to work. Sound installations are rarely static, having many possible outcomes and many works have a high degree of immersive and interactive characteristics. As such they are difficult to document. This article will look at representative examples of my sound installations since 1977 showing diverse approaches to sound installation. It is a potent artform, which has stretched the boundaries of the disciplines of fine art and music, merging sound, time and space in new ways.
Situated Sound and Compositional Circumstance in My Recent Musical Practices
2019
My recent compositional work consists of installed sound environments and pieces for performance by ensembles, soloists, and machines. Throughout my research period I have proposed musical and sonic art works as fields of and for phenomenological inquiry and reflection. From this perspective, my pieces become sites for enacting environmental encounters that unfold around listeners. These circumstances problematize the certainty of subject and object within aural and aesthetic experiences of sound situations. This commentary surveys material and thought processes in my recent compositional work and accompanies a portfolio of works from my research period to comprise my submission for partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
Experiencing Sound Installations: A conceptual framework
Organised Sound
We propose a conceptual framework for describing and documenting sound installations from a visitor’s point of view. In the form of a taxonomy, the framework includes four complementary perspectives: sound sources, sound design approaches, visiting modalities and visual aspects. Its elaboration was informed by a review of contemporary sound installations in Quebec as well as a literature review on conceptual and theoretical frameworks on sound art and sound installations. Compared with existing frameworks, the taxonomy is useful for describing and comparing sound installations across meaningful perspectives from a visitor’s stance. To illustrate the potential benefits of the taxonomy and the diversity of installations it can portray, we provide a comparative analysis of four contemporary sound installations from different perspectives. We conclude with the use of this taxonomy for documentation purposes.
This article is an analysis of two sound art performances that took place in June 2015 in outdoor public spaces at the social housing area Urbanplanen in Copenhagen, Denmark. The two performances were On the Productions of a Poor Acoustics by Brandon LaBelle and Green Interactive Biofeedback Environments (GIBE) by Jeremy Woodruff. In order to investigate the complex situation that arises when sound art is staged in such contexts, the authors of this article suggest exploring the events through approaching them as ‘situations’ (Doherty 2009). With this approach it becomes possible to engage and combine theories from several fields. Aspects of sound art studies, performance studies and contemporary art studies are presented in order to theoretically explore the very diverse dimensions of the two sound art pieces. Visual, auditory, performative, social, spatial and durational dimensions become integrated within the analysis in our pursuit of the most comprehensive interpretation of the pieces possible.