WINNER (d)arc Awards - Reverberating Light at EMPAC
Featuring music by Jonas Braasch, Zach Layton, and Pauline Oliveros
‘Deep Listening involves going below the surface of what is heard, expanding to the whole field of sound while finding focus. This is the way to connect with the acoustic environment, all that inhabits it, and all that there is
—Pauline Oliveros
A light and sound installation by Yael Erel and Avner Ben-Natan incorporating dynamic reflected light drawings that engage with soundscapes by Pauline Oliveros, Jonas Braasch and Zack Layton recorded through the Dan Harpole Cistern System.
The project was a WINNER of the 2023 (d)arc Awards - ART LOW category
Light shines onto stainless steel discs and reflects dynamic light drawings that respond to sound, creating a sense that both the sound and the light are alive. Data engraved onto the reflector by a robotic arm is derived from the footprint of the cistern along with the way that sound reverberates off the cistern itself. Once illuminated, the information is reflected and transposed into light drawings. Multiple reflections from one light source create a sense of reverberation echoed in both light and sound.
As viewers enter the space they are immersed within a field of light and sound reverberation. Echoing the intent of Pauline Oliveros’s Deep Listening practice, this work aspires to support this sense of immersion and focus in a meditative space by enhancing the soundscape as a multi-sensory experience.
Presented by: EMPAC Research
Project Team:
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Light drawings: Yael Erel and Avner Ben Natan
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Soundscape: Pauline Oliveros, Jonas Braasch, and Zack Layton using the Dan Harpole Cistern System
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Technical integration: Samuel Chabot
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Robotics support: RPI SoA Fabrication Lab and Clair Moriarty
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RPI Research Students: Maddie Mast, Joey Morse, Joe Pelton, Rebecca Victori
Funding
This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Arts Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; administered by The Arts Center of the Capital Region. Supported by lightexture.