Noise Made Visible: Acousmatic Sound and Visual Resonance
Alija Bezer · Griffith Research Online · 2016
“Noise Made Visual: Acousmatic Sound and Visual Resonance” is a studio-based PhD project that generates new knowledge about cross-sensory perception and creative, multi-disciplinary practices. This knowledge is communicated through works of contemporary art in conjunction with this exegetical document. The four- year research undertaking was motivated by the following question: How can listening to unfamiliar sounds that are severed from their original visual context of production (second- degree acousmatic sounds) affect the perceptual relationship between sound, sight, and materiality? The recorded sound stimuli used for this inquiry encompass an array of ‘cosmic noises’, which are sounds derived from radio waves or electromagnetic forces in outer space. I surmise that many people are unfamiliar with these types of sounds and the processes involved in their production. In turn, this unfamiliarity can liberate sound perception from established audio-visual relationships that are depended on seeing or knowing the sound’s original source and environment of production. This thesis proposes that liberating sound perception from such visual contexts can promote alternative audio-visual relationships to emerge, specifically between sound qualities and abstract visual textures, surfaces, and shapes. These relationships between sonic and visual qualities can be encapsulated through works of visual art, examples of which are discussed in this paper.