Sonic symbiosis: The interplay of sound and spatiality in installation art

Abstract

The primal need to discern the direction and proximity of sound sources for survival has greatly affected humankind's relationship with sound and its spatial properties. Cultivating this capability has significantly influenced cognition and spatial behavior, shaping how to prioritize auditory stimuli, and figuring out possible sources of sounds through it. To illustrate, consider early humans who relied on the accuracy of identifying the rustling of leaves to detect potential threats in a dense forest. This instinctual skill continues to resonate within the modern auditory perception. With this observation in mind, this research examines the broader context of the role of sound and its symbiotic bond with spatiality, in particular, its aesthetic interpretation within sound-related arts. It offers a detailed examination of sound spatialization techniques throughout history and their impact on human society at large. It explores historical milestones as well as their social context and the implications of burgeoning technologies while critically analyzing cognitive and societal evolution behind spatiality in sonic arts, the technological resources developed for sound representation, and the aesthetics of contemporary paradigms respectively. In the discussion chapter following this detailed context setting, two major issues are centered. The importance of linguistic tools to depict and evaluate a sonic artwork, and an examination of sound installations in the light of contemporary examples. This examination includes an assessment of distinctive qualities, what is diffusion and what does it mean to have a strategy regarding it in the context of sound installations, and the notion of focus in this context. At last, this investigation is enriched with a multi-channel sound installation named CLSR as an empirical dimension to the study. It challenges the perception of space as a transparent container for sound and art exemplifying the research's philosophical facet. Leveraging the real-time generative capacities of the SuperCollider audio programming language, CLSR employs reference tones for interactive spatial exploration and invites the audience into a dialogue between sound, environment, and perception. By probing the role of space and its influence on sound creation, the project fosters new ways of appreciation for soundscape.