Patterns of vibration in sound, symbols and the body, Rachael Linton, 2009
This thesis traces the therapeutic use of sound, light, colour and form in motion from ancient Hindu and Buddhist religion into its use in complementary therapy. Inspired by te visual forma and motion of sound, this thesis contamplates: if we could see sound, what would it look like and could those images function as a healing art form?
Since ancient times philosophers, mystics, scientists and artists have attempted to provide illustrative interpretations of how they envision sound, some also extend on how certain images hold potential for healing experiences to the viewing practitioner. Speculation that sounds are waves, propagated in air was first raised by Aristotle (384-322 BC) in the 4th Century BC as he observed the motion of waves in water (Caleon, Subramaniam, 2007, p.174). Artwork by Pythagoras’, such as his linear geometry (James, 1993), Kandinsky’s abstrat symbols (Leggio, 2002) and Hans Jenny’s sonorous photographs (Jenny, 2001) each adopt different methods to visually interpret sound, a phenomena which cannot physically be seen. Interestingly, there are structural and aesthetic similarities within their artworks, especially geometric circles, squares and triangular shapes
© 2009, Rachael Linton, Massey University, College of Creative Arts