The Sound Cloud
The Sound Cloud is an experiential exploration into American Music History. A composed sound track drives 5 chambers that respond visually to the soundwaves emitted from a 500 watt, 12 speaker system.
Experiencing The Statement
The housing of the speaker system was intended as an immersion into the sound, while also providing a stage for the engaging visual phenomenon I wanted to use for this exploration into music history.
Each of the 5 chambers contained an intitially white base fluid, filled in thirds by each of the primary colors (Red, Green and Blue). As the soundtrack starts with religious songs from the times of the African and European inhabitants who first influenced popular American Music, these colors began to mix and intertwine. The soundtrack alternates between right and left as African and European roots exhibit their individual influence, which alludes to the racial tension that was present in america throughout this time period. As the soundtrack progresses through the development of styles like jazz, swing, and rock and roll, the alternating pattern fades, and after the music of the 60's the soundtrack is played through all speakers, indicating the progress that music as well as the country made in racial equality.
In addition, the vibrations gradually become significant enough to vibrate the solid materials in three of the five chambers. The seeds are symbolic of the proliferation of ideas in music, while the dice represent the inherent chance that is associated with cultural acceptance of any music; the metallic beads indicate the chaotic "cultural brownian motion" that music enables.
Finally, as the soundtrack culminates in modern dub-step and hip hop, the fluids take on a three dimensionality, and the colors are completely mixed. This final expression represents the loss of identity and cultural ties to musical roots, as well as the new shape and direciton that modern music is taking at the confluence of so many musical influences.
Origins and Process
The concept for the sound cloud was inspired by a design prompt to "create a cloud", which came at the same time as a trip to the San Francisco Exploratorium. Like this little one, I was mesmerized by an exhibit demonstrating the effect of vibrating a non-newtonian fluid.
Additionally, we were lucky enough to receive a lecture from Paul DeMarinis. His exploration of the interplay between audio and visual sensations using technology surprise the viewer by using audio stimulus to key a visual display (vibrational tunnel) or a typically visual stimulus to key an audio response (speaking flames)
In searching for a way to combine these ideas, I stumbled across a video that perfectly fit the cloud prompt, while enabling me to explore mediums of sound and vision. (please skip to 2:21 for some great shots)
However, I'm not on a space station, and just playing frequencies of sound waves isn't the most engaging audio experience, so I began looking to others for musical inspiration.
While this was an interesting effect that I could achieve on earth with musical audio patterns, I didn't want to constrain my design to a simple party trick, or have my music selection constrained to bass-heavy music. Furthermore, I wanted to make a bigger statement with the piece, and began thinking of what that could be.
I have always been a music buff. I like everything from classical to rap, and will listen to everything in between. As a kid, my dad introduced me to the music of his generation, and as a result I'm also very interested in how music has evolved over the years. However I realized I hadn't fully explored where the music I listen to comes to, and what the roots and influences of that music meant for contemporary music. Through researching American music history and the roots of American music, I came to see a great opportunity to use technology and the audio-visual medium to make a statement about contemporary music.
Reflection
This project was a great way to experiment with new materials and effects. To design and fabricate the enclosure and speaker system was a design challenge in its own right, but the most influential and rewarding process was making a larger statement using new materials. I don't think of myself as an overly artistic person, but the experience of communicating a message using unconventional materials through an apparatus and experience that I designed was truly empowering. It was a great joy to see others enjoy my work, and I will continue working with this device in the future.
How does it work?
It turns out that shear thickening fluids are actually colloids, which is a fancy way of saying it's really solids suspended in a liquid. Ooblek, which is made by mixing corn starch and water, is really amylase (sugar chains) molecules acting as a solute in the solution of water. Electrochemical forces cause internal repulsion between these molecules, allowing them to freely float in the solution which makes the mixture behave like a fluid. However, when the energy of a sudden impact overwhelms these forces, they "stick" together, forming a mass called a hydrocluster, and causing localized regions of the fluid to behave like a solid. Once the energy of that impact is distributed throughout the mixture, the repulsive forces regain control, and the fluid state is reformed.
