The Global Composition. Sound, Media, and the EnvironmentDarmstadt-Dieburg/Germany, July 25 – 28, 2012

A quasi-experimental research on soundscape design and museum architectural space

Aimilia Karapostoli, Athanasia D. Kyriakidou and Nikos Tsinikas(emilie1@arch.auth.gr), (thania@mus.auth.gr) and (tsinikas@arch.auth.gr)

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (School of Architecture and School of Music Studies)

Greece

ABSTRACT

Contemporary museums are in the front row of architectural experimentation concerning space and communication. One way to fabricate experience is through sensory design and specifically by exploring and redefining the sonic environment. In this quasi-experimental research, we design two different soundscapes in order to predefine the auditory experience in the context of architectural space. The study takes place in The State Museum of Contemporary Art in Thessaloniki (Moni Lazariston), as part of the current exhibition “Composition-Construction-Production. The Russian Avant-Garde and Contemporary Art”.The main hypothesis resolves around how visitors' experience and behavior varies, depending on the different soundscape creations. The research design involves three set of observations. The first set records visitors' behavior in its existing condition, the second one records visitors' behavior under the first experimental treatment and the third one records visitors' behavior under the second experimental treatment. The observations were made on six successive weeks; two for the existing condition, two for the first experimental treatment and two for the second one.The first experimental treatment condition, was designed to create a soundscape which was consisted of sonic effects like drones and cut outs, and it constituted mainly of sound samples of industrial, sci-fi and construction backgrounds. The main purpose of the new sonic environment was to reinforce the theme of the art exhibition by using sounds that are generally perceived as unpleasant. In addition the placing of the sound objects was carefully designed, aiming to alternate the prevailing visitors' route.The second experimental treatment condition, was designed to create a soundscape which was consisted of music compositions made during the Russian Avant- Garde period. The main purpose was to reinforce the theme of the exhibition through another perspective, which was generally perceived as pleasant. The results show that visitors had distinctive responses to different sonic environments and that soundscape design can be used as a tool to create desired architectural intervention.

INTRODUCTION

The production of space is usually related to the design and the physical presence of the built environment. In this project we follow a different approach, one that associates with the

notion of space as a product of the sonic environment. Through our research we examine aspects of the relation of soundscape design and architectural space, using the concept of auditory perception and reaction. Barry Truax argues that auditory and visual perception of space relate through orientation, time and information [1]. We extend this argument by examining the way these three parameters can be altered and manipulated in order to give the desired results. To test the previous statement we chose to execute an experiment. This empirical approach will be based on our main hypothesis which resolves around how museum visitors' experience and behavior varies, depending on the different soundscape creations. We believe that orientation, time and information are the main aspects of the museum experience which can be observed, recorded, measured and compared, providing the appropriate data. According to R.M. Schafer “the soundscape is any acoustic field of study...we can isolate an acoustic environment as a field of study just as we can study the characteristics of a given landscape”[2]. In addition to that, we take for granted that the sonic environment can be observed and be considered as an object of transformation [3]. After the recording and the analysis of the two museum galleries' existing auditory environment, we designed two sets of different soundscape compositions with an ultimate goal to strengthen the theme of the art exhibition through two different perspectives. However, art representation and communication in a contemporary art museum is a hot topic among museologists and art curators.Quoting Nicholas Serota, the Contemporary museums of modern art have to deal with a dilemma between experience or interpretation, concerning the way their art collection is being presented. The curator should counterpoise between the artist and the visitor and create an appropriate environment in order to help the public appreciate and understand the presented art [4]. The fabrication of museum experience through sensory design, especially by exploring and redefining the sonic environment is a field that has not been thoroughly studied yet. In addition, the spread of Video Art and Sonic Art and the increasing use of sound as an artistic medium, bring forward this kind of research as a matter of emerging importance.

EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH DESIGN AND DATA PRESENTATION

The defining characteristics of an experimental research design include the use of a treatment, the measurement of the outcome variables, a clear unit of assignment, the use of a comparison group and a focus on causality[5]. In our project we used two sets of experimental treatment conditions, one set for three days of two successive weeks. Each set was designed in order to create a different sonic environment in the two art galleries of the current exhibition. The measurement of the outcome was carried out through three different approaches: by a questionnaire at the exit of the museum where visitors could evaluate the exhibition's soundscape, by our video feedback review from the security cameras concerning the visitors' orientation and their visit time duration and by interviewing the curators and the security staff. The units of assignment were the museum visitors. Though our research took place in a museum, visitors could not be randomly assigned, so the units of assignment were not completely equivalent. This was the main reason for calling our research quasi-experimental [6]. We used as a comparison group the condition of the art exhibition where none of the experimental treatments have occurred. Finally we established three cause - effect relationships; the first one examines the position of sound objects in architectural space and how they intervene with the regular visitors' orientation, the second one evolves around the existence of certain auditory environments and how they affect the standard visit time

duration, and a third one which inquires how the amount of information that a soundscape carries, influences the optical perception and interpretation of an art exhibition. The experiment realized at the State Museum of Contemporary Art (Moni Lazariston) in Thessaloniki, the second largest city of Greece. During the time the experiment occurred, March and April of 2012, there was no other state museum of contemporary art in Greece exhibiting art in a building of its own. Moni Lazariston (in Greek “moni” means convent) was built in 1861 by the monks of the order of Saint Vincent DePaul, in 1980 was designated as a "historical monument" while the building restoration began and were completed by the Thessaloniki Cultural Capital of Europe 1997 Organization [7]. The museum possesses the Costakis collection which consists of 1275 works of art (paintings, drawings, constructions, ceramics, etc.) by important artists of the Russian avant-garde [8] and constitutes the starting point for most of the exhibitions. The experiment took place in two almost identical exhibiting halls, on the first and second floor of the building, where the special exhibition “Composition-Construction-Production. The Russian Avant-Garde and Contemporary Art” was held. As the curators Theodore Markoglou and Angeliki Charistou stated, “the title of the exhibition was inspired by three words that were very important for the Russian avant-garde art movement, since they can be found in many works of the period, while they also serve to describe the stages and evolution of the movement, from the early geometrically abstract experimentations in painting to constructivism and the industrial - scale production of utilitarian objects” [9]. The SMCA’s art historians-curators invited numerous artists to participate in a workshop concerning a presentation of the Costakis Collection and then asked them to produce works inspired by the art of this period. The new works of the artists and the old ones that inspired them, consisted the art which was presented in this exhibition.The two exhibiting halls have a rectangle shape with sides of 15meters and 30 meters correspondingly and a 3,5 meters height. There are no obstacles inside the rooms, as you can see in Picture 1 and Picture 2, except to the middle row of arches. The floor is wooden, most of the walls are made of stone and the ceiling is made of plasterboard. The sound reflection is strong, the percentage of absorption is small and there is a strong sense of resonance in the whole hall. As a result the sound of only one sound object can be heard everywhere, in each room.

Picture 1: First floor plan, photos of the art exhibition “Composition-Construction-Production. The Russian Avant-Garde and Contemporary Art” and the two basic visitors' routes.

Picture 2: Second floor plan, photos of the art exhibition “Composition-Construction-Production. The Russian Avant-Garde and Contemporary Art” and the two basic visitors' routes.

The position of the two sound objects was determined after taking into consideration the usual anti-clockwise visitor's route that the curators had in mind when they designed the art exhibition. After the first observations regarding the regular visitors' orientation, where none of the experimental treatments have occurred, we found out that on the contrary the visitors preferred the clockwise orientation. As a consequence, we tried to change that by positioning the sound objects near the right wall, as an incentive to start their visit by moving from the right to the left.

Two experimental treatment conditions

The first experimental treatment condition was designed to create a set of soundscapes which consisted of sonic effects [10] like drones [11] and cut outs [12] by using sounds that are generally perceived as unpleasant. For the first exhibition hall, where the section “Composition” was on display, we used mainly sci-fi and electricity sound samples as well as the voice of Vladimir Lenin. The main purpose of the new sonic environment was to reinforce the theme of the certain hall by creating a sonic context to the numerous art works which deal with V. Lenin, the introduction of electricity in Russia and the space obsession of the time. For the second exhibition hall, where the section “Construction-Production” was on display, we used industrial and construction sound samples as well as sounds of people walking and speaking. The purpose of the new soundscape was to strengthen the theme of the certain hall by creating a sonic context to the art works which deal with mass production, industrial objects and use of cheap, simple materials, and also by focusing on the process of the production of these works of art.The second experimental treatment condition was designed to create a set of soundscapes which consist of music compositions made during the Russian Avant- Garde period, which are generally perceived as pleasant. For the first exhibition hall, we used NikolaiMyaskovsky's Sonata for cello and piano No.1 and Alexander Scriabin's Prelude Op.67 No.1 and Mazurka Op.40 No.2. The purpose of the new sonic environment was to support the art display of the section “Composition” creating a sonic environment based on music compositions of simple instrumentation and plain musical forms, creating a sonic framework to the early geometrically abstract experimentations in painting. For the second exhibition hall, we used Arthur Lourié's A Phoenix Park Nocturne and Syntheses, Vladimir Deshevov's

Rails and Leonid Alexeyevich Polovinkin's Seventh Event. The purpose of the new soundscape was to frame sonically the art display of the section “Construction-Production” with music compositions of a higher level of musical synthesis' complexity and being more connected to the Russian modernism, underlying the start of the industrial age in Russia. The time duration of each experimental treatment condition was almost fifteen minutes and they were playing on a constant loop.

Questionnaires, observations and interviews

In order to measure the different outcomes we used three different approaches; questionnaires, observations and interviews. The use of questionnaires was essential for decoding the identity and the characteristics of the average museum visitor who constitutes our basic unit of assignment. As you can see in Picture 3, having a sample of 27 visitors for the first experimental treatment and a sample of 20 visitors for the second one, the typical museum visitor is a woman, in her 20's or 30's, university graduate, non professional musician, living in Thessaloniki. As we have already mentioned, it was not possible for the visitors of a museum to be randomly assigned for each experimental treatment, but we did not have large deviations in each sample.

Picture 3: Charts presenting the characteristics of the average visitor of the art exhibition “Composition-Construction-Production. The Russian Avant-Garde and Contemporary Art”.

Nonetheless, the use of questionnaires was important for the purpose of inquiring the cause - effect relationship of how an amount of information that a soundscape carries, influences the

optical perception and interpretation of an art exhibition. Because of the fact that this is a matter of perception and interpretation, the opinion of the visitors was the only way to deconstruct this relation. In addition to that, we acquired extra data regarding the other two cause - effect relationships concerning time and orientation. The visitors had to answer five questions choosing their answers between yes or no. The five questions were the following;1. During your visit, did you become aware of two sound installations, placed in both art galleries?2. Did you find the soundscape creations pleasant?3. Did the sound installations attract you?4. Did the soundscape creations function in favor of the art exhibition theme?5. Did the soundscape creations prolonged your visit?As you can see in Picture 4, during both experimental treatments all the visitors became aware of the sound installations. The majority of the sample found both of the soundscape creations pleasant, with a small deviation being in favor of the second one. There is a bit of controversy whether the sound installations attracted the visitors towards their position; the smallest majority arguing in behalf of this idea. There is also a big percentage of the visitors supporting that the first soundscape functioned more in favor of the art exhibition. Regarding the last question there is a difference of opinion between the first and the second experimental treatment, with the majority of visitors feeling strongly that the second soundscape prolonged their visit, opposite to the first one.

Picture 4 : Charts presenting the data of the questionnaires.

The use of observation was essential in order to review the video feedback from the security cameras concerning the visitors' orientation and their visit duration in each exhibition hall. This method provided the needed data for the two cause-effect relationships, the one which examines the position of sound objects in architectural space and how they intervene with the regular visitors' orientation and the second one which evolves around the existence of certain auditory environments and how they affect the typical visit duration. In addition, we aimed at a higher degree of objectivity by gathering information in more than one ways.As you can see in Picture 5, having a sample of 50 visitors for the existing condition, a sample of 70 visitors for the first experimental treatment and a sample of 30 visitors for the second one, there is obvious evidence that the presence of a sound object alternates the regular visitor route. Moreover, this agrees with the smallest majority arguing on behalf of this idea in Picture 4. The data concerning the existing condition shows that on the first floor, where the

most of the art works are on display on the walls (Picture 1), there is an even chance that route taken by the visitor would be clockwise or anti-clockwise. During the first experimental condition there is an tendency towards the anti-clockwise route which leads directly to the sound object. During the second experimental condition this tendency is clearer. The data concerning the existing condition on the second floor, where there is a large number of three dimensional art works on display (Picture 2) intervening with the visitor's route, shows that except clockwise and anti-clockwise orientation, there is a third more complected route. Nonetheless, the clockwise orientation is preferred. During the first experimental treatment condition it is obvious that the anti-clockwise condition prevails. Contrary to the previous statement, during the second experimental treatment there is no inclination towards the clockwise route. We conclude that the specific result is questionable due to the small sample of visitors.

Picture 5: Charts presenting the data of the video feedback reviewing, concerning how sound objects intervene with regular museum visitor route.

As you can see in Picture 6, having the same visitor sample as before, it is undeniable that the existence of certain auditory environments affect the standard visit time duration. The data concerning the existing condition shows that most of the visitors staid about six or ten minutes on the first floor and about five minutes on the second floor. During the first

Picture 6: Charts presenting the data of the video feedback reviewing, concerning how the existence of certain auditory environments and affect the regular visit duration. X-axis

represents time (minutes), Y-axis represents visitors.

experimental condition on the first floor, despite the fact that the majority of the visitors stayed about the same time, visit durations had a wider range, 29 minutes being the longest. The same happened on the second floor with the longest one being 19 minutes. During the second experimental condition on the first and second floor, there is no difference regarding the regular visit time duration. This is contrary to the data presented in Picture 4, question 5, according to which the majority of visitors believed that the second soundscape prolonged their visit, opposite to the first one.The guards' interviews revealed that visitors were more relaxed and talkative when there was a certain sonic environment present in contrast to the prevailing silence of other exhibitions, reminding them of the medieval church [13]. According to the guards, visitors reacted strongly to the first experimental treatment with contradicting feedback, while they were uninterested in the second one; it was something they could expect, like moozak [14]. In addition, curators, whose interaction with the visitors was via the guided tours, preferred the first experimental treatment and felt that its concept was more suited to their main idea for the art exhibition. Curators' interviews showed that they had a previous experience on using sound as a tool in order to make an exhibition multisensory and that they had already treated works of art which use sound as a medium differently.

CONCLUSIONS

Experimental research in field settings, concerning people's reaction and behavior can be criticized on issues like overgeneralization, misapplication and ethical concerns [15]. In order to prevent the previous, we tried to study people in their natural settings, in our case inside the museum, we revealed the identity of the typical visitor and we informed the individuals for their participation in this study. Nevertheless the results of this experiment are uncertain and not applicable to all kind of museums and exhibitions, but we think that the originality of our article lies in the use of this experimental strategy as an approach of studying such sound phenomena. Our goal is to extend this research on different kind of museums, like an archeological museum, with different architectural environment, like open air museums or ruins.Finally, regarding causality, we would like to underline the following assumptions;The sonic environment of an art gallery is never indifferent. Sound shapes a “sonic framework” always understood in a museum context, which defines the visitor's interpretation and interaction with the works of art or the objects on display. We believe that this assumption affects the way curators and museologists tent to program and design exhibitions, having as a guide most of the time the visual aspects of works of art or objects on display. Soundscape design can also be used as a tool of museum architectural intervention in order to guide the visitor, extend the visit duration and manipulate the museum experience. Moreover soundscape composition, the placing of sound objects, the use of architectural elements like surfaces of certain materials or water fountains as sound objects, and the acoustics of an architectural space can really shape a soundscape and affect the way it is perceived. We believe that an architect can benefit from making space dynamic by using sensory design and especially the concept of soundscape.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We would like to thank the personnel of the State Museum of Contemporary Art in Thessaloniki for their support, cooperation, patience and for helping us accomplish this unfunded project. Special thanks to; Theodore Markoglou and Angeliki Charistou, the curators - art historians of the art exhibition “Composition-Construction-Production. The Russian Avant-Garde and Contemporary Art” who gave us the opportunity to interfere and experiment with their work, Dafni, Kleio and Christina for the information gathering and their insightful comments.

REFERENCES

[1] Barry Truax: “Acoustic space, architecture and acoustic ecology” in Proceedings of International Cross-Disciplinary Conference Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada June 8-10, 2006, edited by M. Polo & A. Wrigglesworth (Toronto: Ryerson Embodied Architecture Lab 2006). [2] R. Murray Schafer: The soundscape: our sonic environment and the tuning of the world, (Rochester: Destiny Books 1977,1994) pp.7.[3] Jean - Francois Augoyard & Henry Torgue eds.: Sonic experience: a guide to everyday sounds, (Canada : McGill - Queen's University Press 2005) pp. 4.[4] Nicholas Serota: Εμπειρία ή Ερμηνεία - Το δίλημμα των μουσείων μοντέρνας τέχνης [Experience or Interpretation - The dilemma of museums of modern art], (Athens: εκδόσεις Άγρα 1996,1999) pp. 55.[5] Linda Groat & David Wang: “Architectural research methods”, (Canada: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2002) pp.252.[6] Ibid. pp.255.[7] Official website of The State Museum of Contemporary Art in Greece (online): http://www.greekstatemuseum.com/kmst/museum/locations.html (visited 25 June 2012).[8] The Costakis Collection at the State Museum of Contemporary Art in Greece (online): http://www.greekstatemuseum.com/kmst/collections/kostakis.html (visited 25 June 2012).[9] Exhibition “Composition-Construction-Production”.The Russian Avant-Garde and Contemporary Art” (online): http://www.greekstatemuseum.com/kmst/exhibitions/article/612.html (visited 25 June 2012).[10] Jean - Francois Augoyard & Henry Torgue eds.: Sonic experience: a guide to everyday sounds, (Canada : McGill - Queen's University Press 2005) pp. 9. [11] Ibid. pp. 40.[12] Ibid. pp. 29. [13] Brian O'Doherty: “Inside the white cube: The ideology of the gallery space”, ( San Francisco: The Lapis Press 1976, 1986) pp.15.[14] R. Murray Schafer: The soundscape: our sonic environment and the tuning of the world, (Rochester: Destiny Books 1977,1994) pp.96.[15] Linda Groat & David Wang: “Architectural research methods”, (Canada: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2002) pp.270.