Oorwonde - a tactile experience

Laura Maes

The exposition focuses on Oorwonde, a specific practical experiment within the research project Sounding sound art. The work, which falls somewhere between a sound installation and an interactive performance, consists of specially constructed stainless steel operating table upon which visitors, or ‘patients’ are invited to undergo ‘aural surgery’. Next to the concept and construction of Oorwonde, related practices are discussed in terms of their use of subsonic sound in interactive works or installations. The exposition introduces contextual information in regard to the artist’s broader work on the question of what constitutes ‘sound art’, while it’s main purpose remains the description and analysis of this new sound work, as a piece of artistic research.

Various artists have played with the visualization of subsonic sounds, either through placing items on speakers, positioning speakers underneath liquids or through visualizing air pressure fluctuations.

This page will discuss three sound works that each have a different approach to making low frequency waves visible.

Dutch artist Felix Hess takes it one step further as at first sight Hess’ It’s in the air does not seem to have any relation with sound. This collection of square formed small flags manufactured out of white rice paper only reveals its meaning when a person enters the same space. Even the smallest turbulence has an influence on the position of the small flags which do not only react to sounds or movements of the visitors, but also to their breathing. When a spectator is standing still for some time all the flags will turn in his direction. The body temperature of the visitor makes the air surrounding him heating up and rising. As a result colder air is attracted over the floor and the small flags will all turn into the same direction. (Kuitenbrouwer, 2003) It’s in the air makes the movement of air visible.

In Surfaces vibrantes Xavier Charles places small things such as pinecones and crumpled aluminum foil on subwoofers. (Happy New Ears, 2007) When the speaker emits low frequencies, the cone of the speaker moves back and forth at the speed of the produced frequency. The items placed on top of the speakers move up and down, bump into each other and as a result create percussive sounds. The installation Surfaces vibrantes consists of various speakers that each have a different item placed on top of them.

Thomas McIntosh, Mikko Hynninen and Emanuel Madan utilized a different way to visualize subsonic sounds in their sound work Ondulation. The low frequency loudspeakers are not covered by various items, but they are located underneath a layer of water. These speakers cannot be seen as they are integrated into a basin and are fully hidden by 2000 liters of whitish colored water. In Ondulation the transmitted bass sounds create 3D-patterns in the surface of the liquid. Theatre lights are projected onto the surface and the patterns in the water are reflected on a projection screen. Sounds are not only emitted via the water covered speakers, the movements of the liquid are perfectly adjusted to the sounds reproduced via a surround sound system. The subwoofers, the lights and the surround system form a pre-programmed cycle lasting 56 minutes. (Maes, 2008)

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