In this artwork, I’ve decided to use the memory of when it was the final day of holidays and the start to a new journey.
I didn’t spend much time having fancy celebrations to start off a new chapter in my life. I’ve decided to make it simple and be grateful for the little things that I will miss when the hectic life of university begins.
What is sound?
Sound is the wavelength and vibrations we hear transmitted from everyday things we see, hear and touch. According to the article, almost all activities in the world has an aural component. There’s 4 different kind of sounds found in the article. Namely sound art, sound scape, sound sculpture and sound design.
How has it been used in society?
Sounds are everywhere around us and we can never avoid sounds. From the alarm we hear in the morning, to the youtube videos we watch right before we head to bed. Sounds are used as a form of entertainment, such as television shows, music and movies. At the same time, sounds are used as a form of an emergency. From sirens to the SOS signal. Lastly, sounds are also used as a form of communication. We talk to people everyday face to face and also through phone call or video call. It’s mostly used as a form of communication to understand each other.
What makes it an art?
The composition of the sound determines whether it’s art. Adding melody and tunes can make the sound an art. For example music, producers and composers compressed, normalized and fill every moment and crevice of the groove with sound. Something that is pleasing to the ear can be an art. Audience must feel an emotion to let that particular sound be an art. If that sound does not spark much feeling in the audience, then it’s not really an art.
How does advancement in audio technology affect our sense?
Aural displays are mostly associated with visual screening to aid us in our journey of looking/listening to Art. They are there to guide us and to not make the audience confused about the art piece. It sparks a tint of excitement when we hear sound art with a visual screening on the wall. We’ve became highly dependent on technology to determine our emotions of a particular piece.
Christine Sun Kim – Game of Skill 2.0
Christine Sun Kim was born deaf. She created the Game of Skill 2.0 to show the audience how much effort is needed to do a simple everyday job such as listening. Audience are to interact with the showcase by moving in the line provided by Christine. As they move along the lines, the handheld device will start to emit sounds (narrative written by Christine, read by an intern at the museum). The sounds will be emitted based on the way they hold the device and also the speed and direction that they are moving. This is known as “scrubbing”.
I feel that this piece was made to create awareness to the audience. We sometimes take advantage of our 5 daily senses and are never thankful only until it’s gone. This interactive display is good for educational purpose too as it teaches children and even adults to always be grateful for being able to do everyday tasks with ease.
Great Animal Orchestra – Bernie Krause
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXQBnFK-zYc
Bernie Krause has recorded the sound of thousands of animals in nature and place them in a recording. It was a music from nature as Bernie aims to raise awareness of animal extinction on our planet. Most of the sounds he recorded were of animals that is on the verge of extinction. He indicated how most audience would find it boring to just listen to the sounds of nature which is why he added in visuals to make it more interesting. He included different sound wavelength to indicate different animals. Animals who has a higher pitch will be placed on top and more waves would appear where as animals with a lower pitch will be placed at the bottom and lesser wavelengths will appear.
I find this piece very interesting as it shows the importance of listening and how it is better if both our visuals and hearing can be combined together to create a better display and interaction.