Aaron Anderson
Installation
1st floor
Embedded Surfaces highlights and exaggerates the relationship of sound, time, and space. The immersent’s search for appealing sonic gestures through movement within the space forms a dance, choreographed by human curiosity and the underlying system. In addition to an emphasis on the relationship of sound, time, and space, Embedded Surfaces offers an approach to translating high-dimensional math into a potentially more comprehensible form. Participants wear a SUBPAC (a subwoofer backpack) and a 5 inch speaker on each hand. Spatial trackers are attached to each of these speakers. As participants move throughout a predefined space, a portion of a four- dimensional sound field is revealed. Each point in real 3D space has a unique timbre and movement through this space creates repeatable sonic gestures.
The four-dimensional soundfield is generated mathematically. Every audio sample is calculated in real- time using the real 3D position and a low-frequency signal generator (controlling position in a fourth dimension) as input. This signal is broadcasted through an FM transmitter and picked up wirelessly on the participant using an FM receiver. Due to the lightweight and relatively small preamplifier and speakers on the participant’s hands, they are not capable of producing low frequency content. Low frequency content is therefore sent to the SUBPAC, allowing these missing low frequencies to be felt in lieu of being heard.