Monday 14 March 2011

The Significance of Sound

I want us to think about sound. I went to a talk last week on the rhythm of sound by Frauke Behrendt. It got me thinking about the importance of sound as a form of movement and embodiment - how sound interacts with and moves our body, but in relation to the landscape or the different scapes/spaces around us. Frauke was discussing an example of mobile sound art in Boston, USA, which attempts to translate the topography of the landscape and its rhythms into sound to create a soundscape in conversation with the land and its history (including that of its inhabitants). Walkers navigate the spaces of the island through the movement of sound which is communicated to them via GPS. Sound may be the missing element in our artwork - sound links us to the embodied, the body, through movement, music, sonics. It can create a connection, or a disconnection. I'm really interested in how sound can enhance the visual experience - either synchronically or non-synchronically. Sound interesting?