The shape of sound : from opto-acoustic inscription to an immersive sonic art

Abstract

Recent scholarship about the nature of sound has emphasized a shift away from symbolic representation towards an understanding of sound’s material quality and spatial dimension. This approach to ‘sonic materialism’ emphasizes the acoustic texture and vibrational force of sonic phenomena. This dissertation extends that work by examining the contours of sonic materiality through an interdisciplinary practice that emphasizes the indexical connection between photography and spatialized electroacoustic music. Just as every photograph is the result of a physical imprint of light upon a sensitive surface, sound leaves behind a fleeting acoustical (indexical) imprint in the air. By moving away from the symbolic representation of musical sound and instead revealing these indexical traces inscribed by the physical vibration of a sonic object, a novel aesthetic and theoretical approach towards the spatial dimension of music can emerge.

The second part of the portfolio consists of a series of original musical compositions that combine acoustic, electronic and spatialized sound, exploring a variety of multichannel spatialization techniques including higher order ambisonics, wavefield synthesis, and distance based amplitude panning. Through an investigation of these spatialization techniques considered alongside the images produced through waveform photography I develop a method of controlling the form, movement, and the expansion of sonic fields.

The creative portfolio developed in tandem with this inquiry into sonic materialism is divided in two parts, the first consisting of what I describe as waveform photography and harmonic photograms. The diverse figuration produced by the modulation of simple and complex waveforms constitutes the fundamental element of my visual practice, developed through the integration of the synthesizer and laser projector into the photographic darkroom.

Fundamentally, this dissertation explores the basic question, “what is the shape of sound?” Drawing upon the history of visual representations of sonic vibration, I have developed an interdisciplinary and speculative methodology that investigates the contours of sonic form. From a consideration of the spatial phenomenology of auditory experience, I have derived a practical and theoretical approach towards the production of immersive sonic morphology.

My work demonstrates the use of space as a compositional parameter, creating sonic shapes that are initially presented in a visual, then an acoustic form.

This conception of a ’sonic field’ constitutes the foundation of my conceptual and artistic inquiry, considering the auditory domain as an immersive space where the materiality of sound, operating as a vibrant and vibratory substance, can reveal its manifold texture.