Project Portfolio

Group: Darius, Neil, Christina, NicoleDarius Dias _ 7612833EVDS 2500/2900Calvin Yarush & Marc MainvilleUniversity of Manitoba, 2010/2011

Audio spek(trəce)

Trace. | trās | - a mark, object, or other indication of the existence or passing of something

We act, and the world echoes our actions. You just have to listen.

Beyond the obvious visual traces imprinted in time and space as a body moves through an environment, lie audible sound traces. Echoing footsteps in a church. Feet rustling fallen leaves. Boots on fresh snow. Sound is conserved energy from all life’s actions, and the traces it leaves are just as important in defining and designing spatial relationships as visual traces.

Based on discussion and investigation of particular ‘traces’ left by a body on/in it’s environment, an apparatus to “capture” this trace was developed. This apparatus (re)constructed the trace in a tangible format which allowed for further reflection and questioning of our chosen phenomena, sound traces. Through a mixed media artistic piece, a relationship between the body and the trace was depicted.

The Idea.Sound is another medium through which bodies leave traces in their environment. After cap-turing, and investigating these audible traces, we will test to see whether they can be inter-preted and even guide. We will investigate how a trace reflects the reality which produced it.

The Set-Up.

On the Job.

Nicole Christina Darius

Copy.Neil.

Copy.Christina.

Nicole Neil Darius

Conclusion.

By observing the data constructed by our apparatus, we were able to visually represent our efforts to use a sound trace as a guide. We found that, while clear and familiar, the sound trace lacked the context of reality, and made it quite hard to follow accurately. So while, sound traces are not suit-able to be interpreted as guides, they do give insight into a body’s relationship to its environment in sensory action/reactions. Spaces and materials ‘remember’ our presence in many forms, one of which is sound; the idea of our environment ‘remembering’ our presence allows for a more holistic and contrasted approach to designing memorable spaces.