User:FluffyDunlop/Essay/1echap

19/2/15: word count 3644

Essay Outline [Henk-Jelle de Groot]
[Title]
Space as an object
Material Sound

.0 Intro
The essay will be a one on one reflection of my graduation work. Starting with the early processes and experimentation till the completion of the work and self-reflection on the process and findings within the graduation research. They aim of this essay is to accompany my work process as a method to help reflect on the graduation project. The reader will gain knowledge of the process and related subjects.

.1 Engagement With this project I’m aiming to surprise the viewer with a new perception of a space, and to connect the viewer to the space in a different way. The idea of engaging the viewer with the space comes from the idea that there are acoustics properties that you might not be aware of. Through this properties of a space I can visualize my research and let the viewer be engaged and connect to the space in different way
Some of the subject matter on impulse response is hard to grab. I could choose to leave the technical explanation out, this in case that the work is strong enough and doesn't need any technical details to explain the work. What I need to tell in a technical aspect is defined by the outcome of my research.

.2 Research & Experiments
My research focuses on what possibilities sonology & impulse response can offer for the development of sculptures, and how they can give a different awareness of places and spaces. My sculptures will give the viewer an object to look at. And make the viewer aware of their presence in the sculpture and space. Through this sculpture a different awareness of spaces and their acoustics properties is created.

Impulse response. The idea behind an Impulse Response (IR for short) is that a frequency sweep is played in a certain space. A frequency sweep is a sweep at a constant decibel level ranging from low frequencies to high frequencies. With using this method we are sure that every possible frequency is played in that space and it will give us a clear data set of the reflective properties of that space.

My IR setup works the same but is only played once. The frequency sweep is played back in a space and is recorded through a microphone. The recording is put through a convolution algorithm where the acoustic data is captured and calculated. What happens through this process is that the original sound is “deducted” from the recorded sound, what are left is the frequencies that amplify or extinguish themselves within that particular space. The IR method has many appliances. In my own practice I use the IR method to give certain sound or dialogue a reverberant character. Imagine a sound score that consist of sounds recorded in “dry” rooms that have no reflection. These sounds are like blank canvases that can be enhanced by applying a reverberation process. These reverberations that I use are all produced through IR processes. These reverberation characteristics can put “dry” dialogue in a car “environment” through the use of impulse responses.

An example if this method is the famous experiment I’m sitting in a room (1969) by composer Alvin Lucier. By recording a sentence spoken by Lucier and playing it back multiple times within a room. Lucier captured the acoustic properties in that room like an IR. After playing back and recording this sentence multiple times a garbled recording is left with vague sounds that contain only frequencies that reflect the best within that room.

Below are the basic sound examples of a Impulse Response technique.
A clean sweep to play - [A sine sweep from 20Hz to 20kHz]
A sine sweep from 20Hz to 20kHz recorded trough a microphone in a room - File:R1.ogg
Impulse Response through deconvolution method - File:Jar Response.ogg

These pictures show a representation of an impulse response. The way in witch the impulse response is shown is called a waterfall diagram.

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  Waterfall diagram of a Impulse response from a kitchen (measured in dB and Frequency)

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  Waterfall diagram of a Impulse response from an auditorium (measured in dB and Frequency)

.3 Initial Trials / Experiments I started by setting up speakers in a 90 degree order with a microphone in between. This system, if mirrored and pointed to the opposite side of the room, can provide me with 4 impulse responses (1 for each speaker repeated once)

I found out that when I put the outcome of these four measurements trough my visualization workflow, that the amount of measurements was not enough to give a detailed model of the room. So I quickly abandoned my 2 speaker setup with 4 measurements. And went for a single speaker setup with 8 measurements. More work to get the angle of the speaker right but much more information due to more measurements. The distance of the microphone to the speaker is equal to all measurements and gave some weird mic placements within the measurement technique. I decided to leave the room in the way as I found it and to not mess around with furniture between measurements.

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  Initial setup

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  Second setup

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  Measurement 5 gave me some interesting microphone placement

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  Keeping equal distance

These are the recordings and the 8 measurements of that particular space (room 2.9 wdka)
Measurement 1
Measurement 2
Measurement 3
Measurement 4
Measurement 5
Measurement 6
Measurement 7
Measurement 8

From here the visualization research started. I looked at different ways to get a detailed curve out of the wave files, and the best way that worked for me was to import the audio in After Effects and apply the Wave Form filter to a solid and link the filter to my measurements. This gave me a tweak able visualization, where I could change the amount of points, lines, height and offset of the audio file. After I exported a Tiff image with the waveform, I imported the image in Adobe Illustrator to trace the image into a spline. With the spline of each measurement (8 total) I created a sphere like object in autodesk maya. This method if done with only 4 measurements gives a less detailed object to work with, this was the main reason to go from 4 measurements to 8.

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  Splines as exported from Illustrator

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  Splines imported into Autodesk Maya and shaped in a spherical setup

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  The gaps between the splines are now filled and the visualization is complete

Founding.
First thing that I found out is that a multiple speaker setup is quite hard to do, and makes thing unnecessary complex. The best way is to stick with multiple measurements trough the placement of 1 speaker and 1 microphone. I have measured on a horizontal level. After experiencing the horizontal method I question it may also be a good idea to go in height directions, moving the speakers up and directing outwards in a 360 degrees spherical angle.
The moment the wave form is analysed with the After Effects method, the measurements will loose the 1:1 accuracy. From here on out the model is not scientific accurate anymore. How This influences my research and what it does to the project I have yet to determine.
Next Step.
With the first prototype made in a 3d shape, the next step is to put this model into the physical world. For my other prototype I have been experimenting with visualising impulse response through 3e printing (see below)
I could do the same and find out what kind of shape I'll get. Some questions came out the feedback session and it seems good to research them:
What role the location of the measurement has in the project?
How can I connect the object to lets say a room and what does it mean?
Could similar sounds like impulse responses been made on a certain place?

Second Prototype

During the tryouts with the above method, I experimented with different spaces and setups. One that worked well and had interesting results was the impulse response from a glass jar. The jar was placed under a microphone and a speaker was placed inside the jar. One measurement was take and visualised through the same process as above. Through the 3d process a flower like object was generated.
With the nature of the sound in mind and the flower like shape that was developed through the process, I decided to print the object in 3d and put it back in its "origin".

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  Glass Jar with speaker

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  Print process

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  Final Product

Continuation. Through these experiments and trials I gained more direction in what is to become a "final" product. The first experiment didn't give me the results I was looking for. The 8 measurements gave me a "dull" object that had no relation to the space or surroundings where the IR was taken. If I could transform the object in a physical way the object would come to complex and almost not recognizable as an acoustic reflection of a space. The second experiment was much more direct and simple in a way that it could convey a new awareness of an object or space.

The Object. This object derived from the precise measurement is now the focus of the project. This object should have to properties of explaining itself with little context and still be objective to the viewer. The sculpture that came out of this research is quite a “classic” sculpture, comparable with artist such as Starck and Brian Wilshire.

My view on the sculpture is that the sculpture itself “reveals” the origin of the form and the material represents the presence of the viewer. The material is a direct link to the material the sculpture originated from

Bibliography:

Research
Impulse Response as explained by AudioEase
Sound Design by David Sonnenschein
Audio Check Test Tones

Similair Work
Driessen & Verstappen Solid Spaces

Technical Tools
Maya 3d software
Paper Mockup Software Pepakura

[S: this section is 1200 words= make a readable edit of it so 300-500 words]

Transcribe voice recording (prone to really really bad writing and grammar) Research artist and write what you see.

What have you done since your project proposal?

I try to find a way to contextualize the sculptures because within the talks with David we found out that it has a strong technical background and a solid building block to work from. Only context is still disputable..

What does that mean?

Well, just, what is the context? And in which way does it need to have context and is it an objective project in stead of a project that is really informs the viewer of what they see. I’m going actually in the direction of an objective art form that has connection with the technical or previous..

How does that manifest itself?

I think you remember the purple stick. I have made a bigger one from wood, it’s much taller, i also made a kind of wave vorm, made out of discs

Is it rotated on a..

Yeah, it’s all made out of discs and you just stick them together and then you have the outline and the form. These are all quite interesting shapes and strong shapes..

How many did you make?

4

How big are they?

No, the biggest is this. Smaller one like this etc..

Why re they the same wave form?

Because the technical aspect of recreating the wave form and getting information from an object is already set. And i have to work towards prototyping different materials or experimenting with materials.

Ok, so your intention is to work with lots of different materials?

At this point, yeah.

What happened after the wooden…?

This wooden figurine is Basically it’s still a jar because sound is coming from a jar, it’s generated by the jar. And it’s just captured know in some wooden sculpture but it’s a jar.

Explain that to me

The characteristics of what the jar is in sound is captured within the object. What is made out of wood and the jar is made out of glass. So the next step was to find similar material to make the sculpture out to either have connection with what it is or was or an idea that like this the wave.. the sculpture being out of metal. Because when you have the measurement of the room the equipment you are present in the room, so in some way you alter the room, it’s not really clean, because you’ve been there, the sound waves reflects on you and you make the measurement different than it could be. Presents alters the result. And if I make the sculpture out of a shiny object and the object is put back in the room and you are not there it is natural environment, let’s say a zero point. But as soon someone wants to look at it closer you distort the object because your reflection is giving within that object and you alter the same way you’ve done with..

You’re saying the interruption of…

That is the one aspect that I find interesting. Because the ideas to give the viewer a new engagement with space, i think this comes close to what i imagine, or what i want.. It is kind of a gimmick or a trick. When you see it, i‘ve tricked you in altering my sculpture and it is exactly the same as the sculpture that was made actually

Why do you want to trick people?

It is not a trick, it’s just a way of making stuff. It’s just a, i don’t know.

Is the metal one made? I have think about making one. Because it is going in all different area that i havn’t been before. I have done some metal works before, but not in a way that i have to actually melt metal and poor it into a cast. That’s like.. I can make a malt from the wooden one and then go from there. It’s all within reach.

In an ideal world, how do you see it exhibited?

I’m not so, i don’t know. I don’t need really a gallery, i need just a space that either the response was made in and have the same amount of visitors visiting an exhibition but then in a space that relates to the object.

What changed?

I think my personal breakthrough. No matter what happens in these next months/years is that within the state of mind that i’m normally in working also towards an end product, like i do daily in my studio, it’s not, if you want to be really creative or different, you have to look more carefully to every step you’re making and don’t be fixed on the end point. That is like maybe for some people, they already knew this, but for me it is quit revelation.

What are the possibilities after the metal shapes and form?

It is actually a data set were I’m working with. I have this measurement that’s all cool and nice but then you have the outcome of it. It’s up to me to find a way to show or to visualize / sonolize to show that data. And know I choose a wave shaped form/sculpture, but it can also been done in different ways. And not sticking with one way but still going from one step back to what i originally had, the data, and then going sprout my way into different directions. But that’s not good for this graduation anymore because then I’ll start over again.

What options would there be?

I’ve got some artists from David. I wrote it down. Isa Hesse, Rachel Witereed

What’s about these artists?

I didn’t look them up yet. David was really font of the plastic aspect of the material. Because it reminded of socialist sculpturism 60’s I think the material plays a big role withing the sculpture

If you use different materials next to the reflecting ones.

It’s like when you have 2 mirrors and you want to see the infinite reflection. The sculpture is the same You can’ t see the original because yo become part of the sculptor and that also happens with the acoustics of the room when you make an impulse response

Just like science when you pay attention to the presence of the scientist like in quantum physics .

Using this form are there anyways of making this clear.

If you use plaster or hay or musely

.On of the thing I was think of to make the material the same as the material of the object the impulse response come from and to place the original object next to the sculpture. Like stone sculpture and metal casing takes time and I have only so much time.

But what can you use the material to develop new associations and possibilities with connection to the sculpture. What does it mean to make it out of plaster?

Other then just the material then the impulse response was taken I don’t see any difference connection yet. If I think longer about what you just said.

When you make things you realize things. How does it work.?

It’s still hard there is something I want but the process is important make little steps and focus on those and something will come out. Still the result is where you start you are gonna sculpt with something in mind a per-existing idea and when you are making new things come up and there are technical limitations.

[ S: task for next time: edit this text; transcribe today's recording; describe whiteread, Neuman and other artists dealing with similar issues]