Dream House: Sound and Light Environment
http://melafoundation.org/main.htm
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| Source: http://melafoundation.org/main.htm |
Dream House is a sound and light environment created by composer La Monte Young and artist Marian Zazeela in their TriBeCa apartment in New York City. The installation has been running on and off for the last twenty years, and though I have yet to experience the work, from the text written about it and the short clips on YouTube that I found (posted below), Young’s intention to use sound and light to enhance attention spans and increase sensitivity to differences within a space directly relates to my interest in the effect of standing waves and room modes on occupants in relation to the built environment referred to in the previous post.
This piece is situated within several rooms of the apartment and is characterized by the magenta glow of Zazeela’s lights and Young's sound environment created from sine wave components generated digitally in real time on a custom designed Rayna interval synthesizer. Ed Howard describes the resulting phenomenon in his 2003 article in Stylus Magazine:
“In each corner is a tall white speaker that looks like a giant refrigerator, as intimidating in the bare space as Stanley Kubrick’s monolith. These monoliths are vibrating with the 32 frequencies of Young’s composition, and though the music itself stays constant no matter how long is spent inside the House, the sound’s relationship to its listeners can change drastically with the slightest movements.
The only time the music remains stable is when the listener is completely still: the low drones culminate in a dense jackhammer cloud as they cross over each other, forming complex rhythms. However, just slight changes in posture completely alter the sound field. Different higher pitches appear as you move your head; by rocking slowly back and forth, you can create a hypnotic two-note melody as the high tones shift and spin dizzyingly. Towards the center of the main room, the drones are thickest and lowest, while around the perimeter of the room the sound tends to be airier, dominated by chattery high-end whine.”
I am intrigued by this work as a physically executed full scale installation that exists within a complex set of spaces and which succeeds in focusing one’s attention on the effects that every subtle movement can have on our aural perception of the built environment. I would like to further explore in the direction of revealing the inherent acoustic properties of a space while locating them within a surrounding contextual soundscape.
VIDEO:
standing in Dream House, NYC
moving in Dream House, NYCMichael Asher
February 13 - March 8, 1970
Gladys K. Montgomery Art Center at Pomona College
Claremont, CA
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| Source: http://www.pomona.edu/museum/exhibitions/pstpomona/ |
Michael Asher’s project at Pomona College in 1970 was successful in creating a physical and acoustic experience without the use of sound generating equipment, simply by shaping the space one occupies in the environment. The installation consisted of three walls constructed of drywall on wood framing that delineated two triangular areas, one larger located in the gallery and one smaller situated in the lobby. Additionally, a ceiling was constructed at a height of 6’10” throughout the entire space. The resulting corridor between the two spaces, only two feet wide, created an experience of compression and expansion in both movement and in sound.
A unique characteristic of this installation is that it was open to the public 24 hours a day. The existing lobby doors were removed and their frame was covered by the new wall construction. Subsequently, exterior light, sound and air became a permanent part of the exhibition, effectively shaping the very experience one had within the space. The sound in the piece consisted of the activity of the community surrounding the work as well as that of viewers who entered it. In this way, the installation captured and reframed the greater public sphere within the controlled physical environment of the constructed space where it could then be interpreted by the viewer.
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| Source: Writings 1973-1983 on Works 1969-1979, Michael Asher (pg 35) |
The image below is a simulation that I was experimenting with which attempts to show the hypothetical behavior of sound waves within the space. Using the Falstad Ripple applet I was able to sketch out a diagrammatic plan of the installation and by placing a source outside of “the doors”, demonstrate how the signal may travel and interact with the physical boundaries of the space. What can be seen from these diagrams is the way in which the first angled wall reflects and directs the sound through the corridor and then into the larger triangular area of the gallery, collecting at the back wall, where, according to those that experienced the installation, the environmental sounds were perceived to be the loudest.
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| Falstad Ripple simulation |
Michael Asher
December 30, 1969 - March 1, 1970
Spaces
Museum of Modern Art
New York, New York
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| Source: Writings 1973-1983 on Works 1969-1979, Michael Asher (pg 29) |
While researching Michael Asher’s installation for the Spaces exhibit at MOMA I was particularly interested in the method of construction in order to achieve a specific acoustic effect. Due to the location of the given space within the context of a larger exhibit, it was necessary for Asher to construct new walls and alter existing walls in order to isolate the room acoustically from the surrounding spaces. In addition to filling the existing walls with fiberglass insulating material, Asher added two layers of wall to all interior surfaces. These two additional wall layers were separated by a 1” air space which served as an acoustical plenum (there is a high impedance mismatch between sound moving through the structure and through the air). Also, each section stood on rubber pads to isolate them from vibrations affecting the building. A wood joist ceiling was constructed six feet below the existing ceiling. Fiberglass acoustical insulation material 2” thick was then placed above the constructed ceiling.
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| Source: Writings 1973-1983 on Works 1969-1979, Michael Asher (pg 25) |
The resulting space was intended to absorb sound and be acoustically isolated from the adjacent spaces, particularly the open hallway on two sides. Asher describes the work in his book:
“The work was itself isolated from the museum, yet functioned by simultaneously interacting the sound and light produced within the museum. Once these sounds had entered the work, they were structured on a diagonal axis and were ultimately dissolved within the confines of the installation.”
Through the use of construction materials and methods, Asher was able to create a space that separated itself from its surroundings without completely enclosing the room, eliminating sound sources or physically removing the installation to a different location. To enter and inhabit a space of drastically different acoustic quality from its context, Asher allows us to re-frame our perception of sound environment as we move through various spaces over time.
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| Source: Writings 1973-1983 on Works 1969-1979, Michael Asher (pg 27) |
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