17. 3D Audio Book: The Influence of Kaffe Matthews.
Kaffe Matthews is a programmer and sound designer who works closely with ideas of space, audience placement and sonic experiences.
-’Sonic Bed’ (2005)
-Introduction to the ‘Sonic Bed’ piece.
Kaffe Matthews work in her ‘Music For Bodies’ explores notions of the body and it’s relationship to sound and music. Again this places the audience directly inside the piece, enveloping them in a pseudo 3D sound piece.
Audience member inside the ‘Sonic Bed’
How this piece will effect my work: The idea of involving the audience directly in the work was influenced slightly by this piece. I have always admired Matthew’s ability to create works that anyone can access. There is more information on Matthew’s Music For Bodies Research Institute can be found here.
-’Sonic Bike Rides’ (2014)
Sonic Bike Rides is a project by Matthews that gives the audience opportunities to take a sonic tour of a geographical area. The bike’s are modified with two speakers on the front, which are constantly aimed at the audience member. The speakers are programmed to react to sensors that are placed strategically on the riders journey. The sonic content of the bike rides features aural histories, area specific music or theatre and other elements.
-’Sonic bike game created for the Coventry Transport Museum (2015)
-Description of one such bike ride: ‘Opera fiXi’
How this piece will effect my work: This piece hasn’t effect my work a huge amount but has made me think further about how the audience should be placed at the centre of a piece.
The Three Key Research Concepts that I have taken from these artists are:
1.Placing the audience as the subject. The two above works have placed the audience right at the centre of piece. I think this was incredibly important when considering what the place of the audience would be within my audio book.
2.Simplicity and complexity. I feel that all of Matthew’s works area a perfect balance of very accessible and also deceivingly complex. I hope to embody this is my project.
3. Public engagement. Matthews manages to make excellent public-facing art that is accessible. I feel that making art accessible is an extremely important thing.
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