Date of Award

Summer 8-19-2022

Level of Access Assigned by Author

Open-Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Department

Intermedia

Advisor

N.B. Alderich

Second Committee Member

Jon Ippolito

Third Committee Member

Sheridan Kelley Adams

Additional Committee Members

Alicia Champlin

Abstract

The impact our physical presence can be overlooked easily in everyday life. Monitoring a visitor’s motion can help bring attention to some of the unavoidable conditions of being physically present in a space. This paper details the creation of an installation in which a participant could examine the impacts of their physical presence. The participant’s motions within a boundary were amplified sonically. The boundary was broken into quadrants. The participant’s quadrant also helped determine the base pitch of the corresponding sounds. The amount of visual change the motion caused within a quadrant from a bird’s eye view determined how much the base pitch was modified. Participants encountering such a system responded in different ways. A few participants chose to ignore the system. Some avoided the system. Others observed others within the system. Others moved, exploring how their motions changed their sonic experience of existing in the space. The last group moved but with the intention of being able to explicitly understand the inner workings of the space and gain control of the system. Through physical motion, this work provided an alternative understanding of being present and part of the system in the gallery space.

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