THE CHIME: POETICALLY TRANSLATING THE DISCRETE DIFFERENCE OF AGNSOTIC SENSORS INTO A SONIFICATION OF THE CITY

Abstract

Inspired by Georg Simmel’s notion of the blasé and Mark Weiser’s vision for calm technology, this document detailing the application of critical concepts to the realization of a design intention is a critical and creative exploration of computation and the everyday. While paying particular attention to the conceptual underappreciation of acoustic space and place, I outline a case for poetically translating data collected from inherently agnostic sensors through the design, construction and use of an instrument for sensing environmental difference (comprised of 18 sensors measuring 27 data points) and exemplified through a musical sonification. A generative instrument, such as The Chime, takes external impulses and translates them poetically into a form that naturally casts the attention back upon the initial gust. In the built environment such treatment of discrete sensing could help engender what I call acoustic places; place that, even if for a passing moment, might resonate harmonically and reciprocally with the inspiration for its emission