Material – Sound – Form

WCU Author/Contributor (non-WCU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Raymond Jay Baccari (Creator)
Institution
Western Carolina University (WCU )
Web Site: http://library.wcu.edu/
Advisor
Morgan Kennedy

Abstract: My installations begin with the curiosity of how we experience sound through material and form. Through intellectual play in the studio, experimentation with materials, and the deconstruction of objects, I find a deeper appreciation for their qualities. This observational process of materiality is self-aware and can be related to concepts of deep listening, as defined by Pauline Oliveros. These qualities are categorized as physical and associative, the first dealing with the characteristics found in physics, and the second with the historical and cultural associations bound up with our perception of those materials/objects. Looking at authors like Caleb Kelly, Eva Díaz, and Will Schrimshaw, I will define materiality as it relates to my practice. Ultimately, the goal of my installations, Vitrified Sound and Go-Between, are to reframe the viewer as a user and imply functionality in my work. The resulting form is an accessible object that requires users to re-orient their perspective or themselves physically. This thesis will also consider the work of artists' Benjamin Patterson, Christian Marclay, and Zimoun in relation to my installations Vitrified Sound and Go-Between. Through material and process-based research, I will contextualize my work within the broader traditions of materiality and its relationship with sound. Overview and detail photography, coupled with in depth descriptions and comparisons of Vitrified Sound and Go-Between, will be used to link studio and material research to users' playful experiences of these installations. Vitrified Sound and Go-Between have benefited from the two modes of study, setting contextualized precedents and practical approaches to creating a more efficient and concrete embodied experience for the audience.

Additional Information

Publication
Thesis
Language: English
Date: 2020
Keywords
Fine Art, Installation, Interactive, Materiality, Sculpture, Sound Art
Subjects
Art
Installations (Art)
Interactive art
Sculpture
Sound art

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