Experiencing Sound Installations: A conceptual framework (original) (raw)
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In different ways, works of art conceived for specific places lead us to consider the audience’s presence, or in a wider sense, the presence of the individual, within the space of the work. For this reason, in this chapter I analyse sound installations in urban environments using a historical and multidisciplinary approach, and focusing on their reception by the “city-citizen” (a term that recognizes the reciprocal influence of the dynamic space of the city and its urban inhabitants). When site-specific artworks include sound as a material, they also incorporate or reinforce ideas of temporality, simultaneity and dynamism and these same qualities are inherent to the modern city. Drawing on 1960s research by urban planner Kevin Lynch, I will discuss the impact of urban sound installations by Max Neuhaus, Bernard Leitner, Bill Fontana and Bruce Nauman. I will argue that all these artists create works that, by immersing the citizen in sound, change and enrich his or her perception of the city.
2009
This paper examines urban site-specific sound installations, as an artistic expression that integrates other disciplines such as sociology and urbanism in the practice and theory of art. It also explores the impact these soundworks produce not only on the physical city but also on the role that citizens play in it. I propose a critical and theoretical approach to this field of sonic arts from the main topics that along time artists have been concerned for in their artwork: on the one hand the relationship between the artwork and the spectator, and on the other the analysis and reasoning of the space through the work of art. In considering site-specific sound installation from these two starting points, the echoes of the previous non-sonorous artistic tradition, especially that closest to its advent in the mid-sixties are noticeable. For this reason, together to their sonorous specificity, other arguments, such as their sociological, urban and phenomenological implications, are rathe...
With one eye on: Viewing a sound installation
The Soundtrack, 2010
In recent years, the term 'sound installation' has been created and deployed to describe a variety of interdisciplinary artwork that, in one way or another, involves the phenomenon of sound. Sometimes, we encounter a piece of sound installation that seeks to heighten our auditory experience by removing any visual references. 1 More often, we 'see' a piece of sound installation that incorporates visual elements that may or may not have direct relationship to the sound itself. It can be listened to through headphones to create an intimate relationship with the viewer/listener. Or it can be presented in a cacophonous manner that drives some viewers/listeners away whilst appealing to others. In any case, there is always the role of space that hosts the existence of sound. The concept of space can be seen as one of the fundamental elements within the art of sight and sound. Therefore, in this article, by reflecting upon my own practice, I will explore the concept of space within the structure of sound installation, and the interdependent relationship of elements of sight and sound by drawing upon the tradition of electro-acoustic music and installation art.
This paper examines urban site-specific sound installations, as an artistic expression that integrates other disciplines such as sociology and urbanism in the practice and theory of art. It also explores the impact these soundworks produce not only on the physical city but also on the role that citizens play in it. I propose a critical and theoretical approach to this field of sonic arts from the main topics that along time artists have been concerned for in their artwork: on the one hand the relationship between the artwork and the spectator, and on the other the analysis and reasoning of the space through the work of art. In considering site-specific sound installation from these two starting points, the echoes of the previous non-sonorous artistic tradition, especially that closest to its advent in the mid-sixties are noticeable. For this reason, together to their sonorous specificity, other arguments, such as their sociological, urban and phenomenological implications, are rather suggested in this discussion to come up to the expanded and renewed concept of total art integrated within the dynamics of the city.
A quasi-experimental research on soundscape design and museum architectural space
Contemporary museums are in the front row of architectural experimentation concerning space and communication. One way to fabricate experience is through sensory design and specifically by exploring and redefining the sonic environment. In this quasi-experimental research, we design two different soundscapes in order to predefine the auditory experience in the context of architectural space. The study takes place in The State Museum of Contemporary Art in Thessaloniki (Moni Lazariston), as part of the current exhibition "Composition-Construction-Production. The Russian Avant-Garde and Contemporary Art". The main hypothesis resolves around how visitors' experience and behavior varies, depending on the different soundscape creations. The research design involves three set of observations. The first set records visitors' behavior in its existing condition, the second one records visitors' behavior under the first experimental treatment and the third one records visitors' behavior under the second experimental treatment. The observations were made on six successive weeks; two for the existing condition, two for the first experimental treatment and two for the second one. The first experimental treatment condition, was designed to create a soundscape which was consisted of sonic effects like drones and cut outs, and it constituted mainly of sound samples of industrial, sci-fi and construction backgrounds. The main purpose of the new sonic environment was to reinforce the theme of the art exhibition by using sounds that are generally perceived as unpleasant. In addition the placing of the sound objects was carefully designed, aiming to alternate the prevailing visitors' route. The second experimental treatment condition, was designed to create a soundscape which was consisted of music compositions made during the Russian Avant-Garde period. The main purpose was to reinforce the theme of the exhibition through another perspective, which was generally perceived as pleasant. The results show that visitors had distinctive responses to different sonic environments and that soundscape design can be used as a tool to create desired architectural intervention.
Soundscape design for historical buildings as a sonic place-making process
Proceedings of DRS
Through the design of soundscape installations for three historical museum buildings, we explore how sonic placemaking may be used to reveal intangible cultural heritage. We build on Harrison and Dourish's distinction between space and place, and Jordan Lacey's definition of sonic placemaking to understand soundscape design as a process of creating places that support sensory connection between the museum guest and museum space, hereby enabling new experiences. We apply design space thinking as the approach to systematize and explore how distinct design choices affect the intended sonic placemaking. Through an interdisciplinary approach that spans interaction design and sound studies, we investigate how the design space is explored through a series of design activities addressing sonic placemaking. Hereby, we identify three design aspects unique to sonic placemaking: Types of Sound, Listening Attention and Spatiality of Listening.
Nine sound-art installations in public space
The aspect of sound as a design element in an architectural context has been discussed for a long time, but there are still today very few permanent projects put into practice. The functional use of acoustics is easily comprehended when utilized to reduce unwanted noise from roads, or when it is perfected to convey speech and music in concert halls. To add sounds to create a sense of space, use it as a quality or defining identity is however still an unexplored field of knowledge. Finding the right balance between creating a quality for the space with dynamics and variety, while still being sustainable over time is challenging. The paper presents theories, methods, findings and results from a large project including nine installations. The project concerns indoor sound installations in large public spaces in Stockholm including acoustic investigations, electro acoustic installations and composition of sound installations for the specific space. The method is both scientific and art-based. The sound design is used as a way of empowering site-specific functions and architectural themes, but also in some cases as a solitary intentional characteristic quality of the space.
Multimodal Technologies and Interaction, 2021
We report on a conceptual framework for describing interactive sound installations from three complementary perspectives: artistic intention, interaction and system design. Its elaboration was informed by a systematic review of 181 peer-reviewed publications retrieved from the Scopus database, which describe 195 interactive sound installations. The resulting taxonomy is based on the comparison of the different facets of the installations reported in the literature and on existing frameworks, and it was used to characterize all publications. A visualization tool was developed to explore the different facets and identify trends and gaps in the literature. The main findings are presented in terms of bibliometric analysis, and from the three perspectives considered. Various trends were derived from the database, among which we found that interactive sound installations are of prominent interest in the field of computer science. Furthermore, most installations described in the corpus con...
Associating Places: Strategies for Live, Site Specific, Sound Art Performance
2015
Claims for originality in this thesis lie in bringing together many different disciplines in art, music, sound studies and performance. The methodology, contextually indebted to the dialogues of site specific art, performance, and sound improvisation, has emerged as a multi-disciplinary one, informed in part by the study of those artists from the 1960s onwards who actively sought to resist the gallery system. The practice has driven the thesis in developing and continuously testing the requirement to respond uniquely to chosen sites. By using relevant references, instruments, and sonified materials, a compulsion to convey something of the particularity of the site’s associations through sound, is performed on site. In the course of considering the wider implications of a site through both the sound performances and the critical writing, I propose that there are essentially three aspects to identify when working with sound on site. I define these as: the actual the activated the asso...