Construct/ Destruct
discovery, exploration, fear, destruction; of sound
Video Performance
Materials: fabric, contact mics, human hand, shadow
Live performance at Station P
Materials: fabric, contact mics, human hand, shadow, Hamlet on vinyl, turntables
In a dark room, words, motions, and even thoughts are amplified.
Echo Chamber places its audience inside a room where the only sound is the sound that they make, cycled through a audio feedback loop; and the only light is light that follows this sound’s pitch and volume.
The piece places its audience unexpectedly in control of this room, and explores how they react. Do they explore its sounds and lights? Do they try to find order in the feedback? Or do they shrink back, afraid that the feedback will grow out of control?
In a world of digital permanence, especially through social media, people have lost the ability to live off impulse. We spend hours manipulating a simple Facebook post in order to present emotions that may not coincide with what we feel inside. “Museum of Secrets” is a outlet for the human impulse to share our most honest thoughts and feelings. It is a safe and anonymous way to shout our secrets into the world, yet there is no way of knowing who, if anyone, is receiving what you have to share.
Have you ever experienced chills when listening to music? Does certain songs cause orgasmic spasms to flow down your spine during specific riffs? Scientists call this chilling effect “Musical Frisson”. Scientists estimate that only 25-50% of people in the world can actually experience musical frisson. I believe musical frisson is an effect on the human body that everyone should be able to feel, therefore the goal of the Musical Frisson Inducer is to increase the percentage of people who experience musical frisson.
To help make this possible, inside the capsule contains five 8Ω amplified speakers positioned to simulate 3D Audio Effects including 2 Subwoofers for vibrational effects as well. Certain effects are known to stimulate the effects of musical frisson such as:
There are many more effects, but the main effects that were used on the audio side of my project involved mainly Panning, Volume Change, Climatic Build Up, and High and Low Frequency Filtering. Using music editing software to create these effects, I chose Kid Cudi’s “Copernicus Landing”, in hopes that a more abstract song would not allow internal negative or positive feelings to be elicited.
Along with the Audio Effects were Visual Effects to also induce a state of serenity. Synced with the music element, the hope was to help induce Musical Frisson by including other senses with the experience. By keeping the visual to a minimum of a light show rather than a display of an equalizer, it doesn’t draw attention from the music, however it aims at stimulating the receptors in our brain to be more open to the Audio Element of the this project.
A series of rooms with plaster walls which appear to be carved from stone. The rooms are filled with other works in a variety of media.
