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INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON SOUNDSCAPE
SOUND INSTALLATION
abstract
Mechi CENA Francesco MICHI Composizione silenziosaWhy silent?
Because computers, amplifiers, speakers emit sinusoidal sub-audio frequencies
(under 16 Hz); speakers are just used for their ability to generate movement.
The composition, therefore, considers mainly a musical parameter: the rhythm.
Why a "composition"?
Because, although the frequencies are not audible, the "sound" material
is actually treated as a composition in every respect.
Description
Two long red silk strips , and two panels, each "vibrant", which are
set in motion by loudspeakers that produce glissandi and sub-audio frequencies,
according to various rules of the composition
The first strip of red silk, hanged to the ceiling, is connected
to a loudspeaker , whose mechanical movement (forward and backward) generates
a wave that is transmitted to the strip of silk.
The wave is transmitted to the strip and it moves on that, like a pebble thrown
into a pond.
The silk that moves does not almost produce any noise, except for a slight snap,
like a whip, when the wave reaches the end of the strip of silk.
The second strip is connected to two speakers: the result is a kind of spiral movement of the strip. The rhythms are composed and variable.
On the first panel are glued a myriad of strands of raffia,
like grass.
Also in this case a loudspeaker transmits a movement, and the raffia produces
a soft, rustling sound: like a disheveled hair that you want to rearrange with
a header or with the fingers .
The second panel consists of two speakers. On the speakers
are glued strips of raffia, folded in two.
Both the loudspeakers push back and forth the "clumps" of raffia,
which pass through a hole whose diameter is smaller than the one of the speaker.
it will look like a bunch of raffia which blooms, like a flower, or a beating
heart. The rubbing of raffia on the hole causes a subtle and rhythmic hiss.
This installation does not disturb.
It's a composition that uses technological tools and concepts from music, but
produces mainly visual effects. And a light sound, that under conditions of
extreme silence - almost a threshold level of the surrounding soundscape - can
be perceived as sound.
This seems to us to be a powerful way to induce empathy and
reflection on what surrounds us.