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Aftershock: A science–art collaboration through sonification

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2014

Natasha Barrett*
Affiliation:
Blåsbortvn. 10, 0873 Oslo, Norway
Karen Mair*
Affiliation:
PGP, Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Postbox 1047, Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway

Abstract

We are immersed in a wonderful cacophony of sound. Sustained and intermittent pings, cracks, burrs, plops and tingles jostle for position in our heads. High-pitched delicate cascades contrast starkly with deep thunder like rumbles that seem to permeate our entire bodies. We are exploring a fragmenting fault zone from the inside, a dynamic geological process brought to our ears through sonification and science–art collaboration: the interactive sound art installation Aftershock. Aftershock (2011) is the result of the collaboration between composer Natasha Barrett, associate professor of geosciences Karen Mair and the Norwegian Centre for the Physics of Geological Processes (PGP) at the University of Oslo. In this paper we discuss how a scientist and an artist collaborated through sonification, the artistic results of this approach and how new compositional methods and aesthetical frameworks emerged.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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References

References

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Works cited

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Supplementary material: File

Barratt sound files

Barratt sound files

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Barratt movie 1

Barratt movie 1

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Barratt movie 2

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Barratt movie 3

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