Aftertaste

... and so it started taking form. The objects in space, the cables a mess. I dared to turn the switch on and it lived. Sunday evening the switch was off and would never be on again. The Wunderkammer was born, lived and died like a dragonfly. Choroechoic composition is real and now i intend to concentrate my efforts in realizing more concepts by using and developing this method of composition. About the exhibition I will just say that the feedback was positive. But who can you trust in being honest? Everyone wants to be polite. But not children. I was positively surprised by the reactions of two kids that entered the Cabinet. Both said that this exhibit was their favorite. I don't know and I don't care why. Probably because children get excited when their perception is challenged. a little girl around 7 years old asked me. "Can I go in there?" I replied "of course you can, but under one condition; you have to tell me what you hear" I was surprised when she started running from the one speaker to the other saying... "Water, wind, wood, glass..." It was an incredible experience for me to see my work through the eyes or better the ears of a little girl. I can not hide I was moved. There was no water, wind or wood in the wunderkammer, but this does not matter. The important thing was that for her, there were. Her imagination was stimulated and the smile on her face meant to me more than the praise of the most renowned sound artist. Another little boy at about 3 years old entered. The question the same; "What do you hear?" the reply came through the mouth of his mother as he was a bit too young and shy to speak to me... "Monsters and Robots!!!" What an incredible response. For me The Sound cabinet of curiosities was successful. If it sounds like monsters and robots, then definitely it sounded strange. I would like to thank everybody that contributed in any way for the realization of this project. But even more...Thank you little ones...

Luc

Preparing the first experiment

Wednesday the 15th of October a first attempt to assemble and test the conceptual and practical functionality of the Sound Cabinet of Curiosities will take place. The set up that will be used includes the following equipment:

1 x MOTU multichannel sound interface

1 x Laptop Computer running Max/Msp

4 x Active speakers

1 x Sub-Woofer

1 x Stereo Amplifier

1 x CD Player

2 x Passive Speakers

1 x Mixing Desk

A series of experiments will take place within a specific space trying to investigate the ways of exhibition of the so far collected sound objects, their positioning within space, the volume balance between the sources and what effect can be achieved with different combinations and the visual aspects of the installation. The aim of these experiments is not just to provide answers to the above issues but also to produce new questions for further research.

The Experiments will take place the 15th and 16th of October at the live room of the Sound Art Department of the LCC from 10:30 in he morning.

Anyone interested in participating please feel free to join.

Call for works

As the Sound Cabinet of Curiosities is a currated collection, I would like to invite sound artists, phonographers and recordists to submit sound objects they would consider suitable to be included within this Wunderkammer.

You may submit more than one object. The files should be from 5 to 20 seconds long wav or aiff with a resolution from 16 bit 44.1 kHz to 24 bit 48 kHz. The sounds to be considered for the context of the project need to be recorded found material and not synthesized or processed. Strange on recording techniques (contact, pick up microphones, hydrophones, muting etc) are accepted.

All contributing artists will be credited accordingly.

If you are interested in submiting sounds please contact me directly by email to sonologik"at"gmail"dot"com

Strange Sounds

A collection of strange sounds; curious, unearthly, peculiar, unfamiliar.

How can one define these words when it comes to sound? Many people think that all sounds are strange when they have been detached from their source. This is not completely true as I believe there are sounds that are recognizable even if the source is not visible and on the other hand sounds can be associated with more than one sources. The aim of the cabinet though is to treat sounds as objects no matter what caused them. Therefore the right question for one to make is which object would belong into a wunderkammer? Something that people are not familiar with would be one appropriate answer. Something that would cause wonderment because of several characteristics and qualities it possesses.

I believe the same question should be asked regarding sound objects. The Sound Cabinet of Curiosities may contain the sound of a commonly used item, which though may be rare and having the qualities to cause the expected reactions for the people that will explore the collection.

Please feel free to write your opinion about this subject as this is the column on which the Wunderkammer will be built upon. Additionally I would like you to...

TELL ME A SOUND YOU CONSIDER STRANGE!

The Sound as Object

In Schaefferian theory the term sound object refers to every sound phenomenon and event perceived as a whole, as a coherent entity and heard by means of reduced listening which targets it for itself, independently of its origin or its meaning.

The sound object is defined as the correlate of reduced listening: it does not exist "in itself" but by means of a specific foundational intention. It is a sound unit perceived in its material, its inherent texture, its own qualities and perceptual dimensions. On the other hand, it represents a global perception, which remains identical through different hearings; an organised unit which can be compared to a "gestalt" in the meaning of the psychology of form.

Schaeffer suggests that there is some confusion concerning the notion whilst adding: a) The sound object is not the sound body, b) The sound object is not the physical signal, c) The sound object is not a recorded fragment, d) The sound object is not a notated symbol on a score, e) The sound object is not a state of mind (it remains the same across different listening modes). (Paraphrase of Michel Chion (1983). Guide des Objets Sonores. Eds. Buchet/Chastel, Paris. 1995 translation by John Dack/Christine North.)

The above definition of the sound object partly provides an answer to the question of how sound can be treated an object. It is a useful definition but only in relation to the various modes of listening. The challenge that arises during the development of the Sound Cabinet of Curiosities deals with the issue of the temporal characteristics of sound and the way these can transform to the characteristics of an actual item in exhibition. An object within a collection does not have an onset, duration or offset. It will be present as long as the exhibition lasts. In other words, ways of discarding the factor of time from a sound object need to be discovered so that it will be positioned in a three dimensional space and exist as an item within a room rather than an item within a time-lined composition.

The Sound Cabinet of Curiosities

The sound cabinet of curiosities is inspired by the historical wunderkammern. It is a Sound art installation which will be assembled within a gallery space aiming to engross the audience in the same wonderment and astonishment as the original cabinets, but with the use of sound objects instead of visual ones.

Three fundamental questions need to be answered in order to realize this concept:

• How can one turn sound into an object?
• Which sounds could be considered as strange?
• How can sound be exhibited within a space?

Many other questions arise as the above are investigated. The aim of the installation is not to provide answers but to create even more questions to the audience as well as to the contributors.

Historical Wunderkammern

Cabinets of curiosities (also known as Wunderkammern) were encyclopedic collections whose categorical boundaries were, in renaissance Europe yet to be defined. The term cabinet originally was described as room rather than a piece of furniture. Within these cabinets, which first appeared in the mid-sixteenth century around Central and Western Europe, the objects that could be found belonged to categories such as natural history, geology, ethnography, archeology, religion, science and art.

From several historical references and descriptions items that would be found within a Wunderkammer included preserved animals, horns, tusks, minerals, as well as other types of equally fascinating man-made objects such as sculptures wondrously old, wondrously fine or wondrously small; clockwork automata; ethnographic specimens from exotic locations. Often a cabinet of curiosities would contain a mix of fact and fiction, including apparently mythical creatures, and alchemical artifacts.