By
Jon Axelrod
2007-2008
Home
Visual Art
Music
Writing
This work is
about the structural manipulation of forms that are
constructed with clusters
of shapes which are in harmonic proportion. Complexity is
built with
fragments which are combined to create new sequences that alter the
interpretation of forms due to the harmonic and melodic relations of
the newly combined images. It is about intuitive mathematics as
visual
perfect pitch and how it can recreate inanimate matter. The
ancient
practice of imitating sounds with the voice is reinterpreted into
the realm of visual art. Using knowledge learned from the
examinations
of experimental traverse waves involved in sound engineering,
images of forms can be built and distorted with foreshortening
and the process's of light and shadow which create the ability
to model forms without depicting all sides, in that the mind can
fill in the form and see behind what perception can directly perceive.
I believe this imaginary space has an auditory equivalent. I
am interested in beauty and how it relates to systems with part to
whole
relationships. The limited angles each resist gravity in
different configurations and become autonomous potentialities within
the
picture, not necessarily subjects or symbols.
In these works, forms are
intended
to represent universal thoughts, actions and appearances. It can
be seen
as a space which contains time based experiences of controlled change
thought
the transformation of shape and color. Geology and Natural
History are
almost visualized because of the universal forces that are
conceptualized. Forms are created individually within the mind,
focused
on an audible, gravitational and aerodynamic creative force that shapes
materials in unique ways depending on periodic transformations of
rigidity and
fluid plasticity. It is a concept that tries to make a link
between many
fields through the understanding of creation of congruence between the
visual
arts with an understanding of science.
These
paintings are individual explorations into various media. I have
been
trying to develop links between music, poetry, photography, painting,
drawing,
sculpture and dance which places my projects within the realm of fine
arts with
a focus on synesthesia. I am interested in thought experiments
that
spread new light onto the creation of images, sounds and words. For
many years
I have been searching for a connection between the shapes of sound
waves and
the shape of forms that produced them, a visual parallel that arises
between
the formal characteristics of the object that produced the wave and the
angle
of phase of its standing wave. Another vital phenomenon is the
way sound
can move objects and isolate discrete materials from a
multiplicity. In
this case the movement is provided by the musical stimulus which moves
the
forms at specific intervals revealing the structure of music within the
movements of small objects due to vibration. Intervals of sudden
motion
take place as the correlating sound is felt, an example is happens
within the
body, which is moved according to the congruence between the natural
frequency
resonance of certain organic materials of the body with sound.
These
paintings depict forms dispersed along a receding surface plane; the
shapes can
move across the space and are manifestations of fantastical imaginary
sculptural counter parts for different frequency bandwidths.
This
creates a form of rapid eye movement as the observer matches shape to
sound
quickly and digressively into an infinite number of pathways depending
on the
musical sequentially which calls out the name of an object by its
natural
frequency.
Musical rhythm is created with a periodicity of arranged voids of
silence,
separated by tumbling cascades of resonating forms. Measurement
and
accuracy of color placement are used to layer forms in an overlap that
divides
shape into ratios and fragments that create a dense flowing passage of
time. A
continual division of time into closer and more precise spaces creates
a
progression of divisions. The process of moving closer into real
space
has a musical equivalent that is much like the space of a rigid
perspective
grid. The placement of new forms along a sequence creates the
idea of
movement though a world. Music has the ability to include and
incorporate
the full dynamics of sound as a singular yet continuously changing
tone.
The goal is virtual symphony created with forms that
have a
specific acoustic resonance. In these paintings, the shapes come
from a
choice to visually translate sounds into corresponding forms that
amplify the
sound. This phenomena of acoustic amplification without
electrical input was discovered by Helmholtz and is called the
Helmholtz resonator, it is based on the congruence between a hollow
form
with a
natural frequency and a sound of this frequency that excites the form
into
motion. The idea that certain sounds can be described with
adjectives
such as heavy or light, dry and wet, etc. creates the potential to
manifest
symbols produced from these words into to the realm of painting and
graphic
music notation. Ambiguous instrumental electronic music has an
aspect of
tactility and physicality that ascribes with immateriality of
universality, and
the abstract notions that lead towards visual arts.
The depiction of multiple
motions
and actions within a defined space creates the idea of duration, in
some cases
a clear pathway is defined but in the finished state the image can be
seen as a
infinite number of histories that are individual chain reactions of
various
audible situations. These sequences can be translated into
notations of
sound created with these symbols that designate another language, not
necessarily music. There are a number of physical phenomena that
can
illustrate different harmonic integers with changes that are seen with;
density, elasticity, temperature, length, gravity, viscosity,
altitude/air
pressure, scale, skid, whiz, whirl, plunk, buzz, bounce, snap, click,
pop,
twang, and shape all affect sound in certain ways. These can be
seen as
discrete systems that can be experienced conceptually to visualize
sound with
harmonic intervals through the physical transformations of matter that
alters
the resonance of this form.
The world
is composed of many systems that can become discrete plans for
synchronicity
and synesthesia. periodic steps through these systems create
visual
distinctions of form that allow an object to be differentiated out of a
chaos
and still be in tune with the other forms while becoming changed due to
steps
within the internal numerological structure of harmonic integer
ratios.
but at the same time there is an unpredictability to sound
recognition. The ways in which beings
come to
understand relies on the Synchronization of the senses, which links
time
and space
with referents. These thought experiments are meant to unlock the
aspect
of extra musical perception that is not describable and cannot be
known.
There is a connection between form and shape, however it is not always
accurate
and the human ear can't always tell precisely what it is hearing.
These
individual graphic representations of sound and image can be seen as
potential
paths that the viewer is to inevitably take which are free, however the
more an
observer knows about extra musical sound phenomena of nature and
rhythmic
sequencing the more interesting the work becomes. In this way the
image
is certainly seen independently as a potential movement, for
example. The
more accurate one can perceive of the forces created within the
illustration
the more one can experience as an observer, in terms of musical
form. I am
attempting to make an image that depicts the release of sound,
sometimes with
the shock and contrast of the figure ground relationship. This
creates
the thought experiment in which the figure changes shape due to thermal
expansion and can break due to shock creating a sound. Most noise
is not
a pure tone, yet the are still harmonic steps that can be made from
this
irregular sound. The transition through the sonic spectrum
creates an
interval and a harmonic ratio but not necessarily a pure tone.
The
precise alignment of overlapping forms with intervals of density
creates a type
of harmonic visualization tool. The ratios 2:1, 3:2, 5:1 can
create
gradated distinctions of shape. These relations can be seen
as imaginary
forms that exist outside of time and space, but could exist none
the less
and their existence can be drawn upon.
These images are also intended to
be seen
as flexible movable abstract organisms that create noise through the
motion of
joineries. I am interested in creating images that seem to
contain real
forms that redistribute from the vibrations caused by acoustic
phenomena such
as with occilons. There are motions within nature which create
sorting;
these collections reveal that the motions of forms presuppose a
particular path
and a place of rest. The reorganization of nature due to motion
shows
that concepts such as collection and organization are not limited to
the
animate realm. The illusion that nature as a whole can provide
some
discretion abet a empirical one, may seem impossible. Yet
there is
a separation of elements that a sound can create. A
reorganization of
materials according to the resonance of each material and precise laws
and
motions created by musical dynamic vibrations. The
interaction of
the whole is analogous to the interaction of cells, which act and
behave
independently creating sets and singularities.
Each form is a new
thought
with a new pathway through the image. I am interested in how an
image can
be a web of connections with gaps at all sides, to be transistors
through a
network of forms. When different songs are heard the image can
move in
particular ways unique to this song based on the order and variability
of
musical dynamics that activate certain forms and not others. The
work of
art can be seen as an organic entity that behaves as a brain, recalling
ideas
and memories from the sequences of connections. If the mind is composed
of many
fragments that come together to create tasks, then it is possible to
extend
this collection outside the mind into a number of thoughts that can be
recalled
almost instantaneously. This project expands the mind into a data
base
for the proliferation of art beyond human potential. If the
modalities of
each generation create aesthetic limitations based on the history of
creations,
then like wise the computer provides a release from the physical
constraints of
the body and the mind (temporarily). The speed to which
information can
be recalled within the mind creates the marvelous creative potential of
humans
but, verbal discourse alone lacks certain liberties ascribed to
writing.
Painting can allow for a space to unfold an
image that changes with
regular
intervals, collectively as a abstract life form suspended in a
painting. The ancient Pagan myth of
Orpheus is significant
in this
regard. Orpheus was said to bring life into the inanimate and it
is
through sound that this is accomplished. I theorize that this is
due to
the natural property of resonance. We know that ancient cultures
knew of
the ability for sound to create inanimate motions. However, there
has yet to be a unified theory for the explanation of
animal
morphology and wave dynamics. The myth of Orpheus has also
revealed
something else, that animals can comprehend music and can be calmed by
it. This is why people make whistling sounds to animals to gain
their
trust and attention. I theorize that the acceptance of these
sounds by animals
reveals their predilection for certain keys. Which is caused by
the
acoustic resonance of the environment that is an subtle adaptive
force. I
predict that a set of diatonic symbols can be found to be in congruence
with
the morphological structure of organisms.
Underwater
creatures, semi
aquatic, terrestrial and avian life forms each developed a way of
dealing with
noise. These organisms attain harmony within the environment as
a form
of sonic adaptive camouflage, by which creatures are naturally selected
by the
process of elimination and regeneration creating an acoustic
convergence
between the inanimate materiality of existence and the development and
evolution of life forms. Whereby matter at the specific geographic
location
within the habitat range of a species, within a niche, creates a force
of
tuning. Observations of bio-acoustic phenomena also indicate that
forms
can be seen with echolocation. However, it is not the resonance
of a form
that reveals a creature but their reflection within an echo that
creates sonar
vision. It may be possible that creatures have keen enough ears
to use
resonance imaging to detect individual species simply from the sounds
of their
movements, therefore the adaptive force of bio-acoustic camouflage
is revealed.
Considering that motions will have to lead to sound in some instances,
when it
does, the creature resonates at a pitch that is in a harmonic
proportion to the
habitat. Observations indicate that there is an incredibly large
amount
of different sounds within an ecosystem.
I theorize that chains
of
Harmonic acoustic congruence can be seen stemming from the earth much
like an
evolutionary tree. The initial stimulus is provided by the
bedrock itself
and the resulting soil that creates an evolutionary force which causes
the
roots of trees to become in tune with the density of the soil.
From these plants and stones, the organisms
blossom into a
number of forms with unlimited functions but retaining a certain sense
of unity
to the harmony of the forest. However this is not to say that the
forest
will always attain the accuracy of pure tones and normal modes but the
intervals of harmonics are relative to each sound not strictly middle
c. If we
observe the universal recognition of consonance and dissonance we can
perceive
of each as having a certain value of alarm which reveals organisms
behind a
cloak of visual camouflage. This force of tuning can be seen as
an idea
that is close to the music of the spheres. In that the
cosmological
composition of our terrestrial sphere has influenced the acoustic
resonance of
us and our music. Many times cultures and peoples have preferred
their
own instruments to those of other places, this could be due to their
affinity
with the earth caused by how their music reflects off the surface of
soil and
stone. The shape and density of mouth parts can also
provide a
morphological acoustic connection. The sounds of the environment
entrain
the mind to accept and value certain tones over others. There is
a form
of acoustic cultural conditioning that is born from the numerological
harmony
that distorts the voice of individuals subconsciously, in order for
their voice
to require the lowest amount of energy, the body modifies the tones of
sound by
micro pitches to be heard from the complexities of noise within the
environment, however this force is temporary until another environment
causes
the voice to be another slightly different pitch. I hypothesize
that the
sounds of our footsteps can influence the pitch of the voice, there
fore it is
the composition of the minerals and stones underfoot that are a filter
through
which our voice subconsciously and numerically entrained.
This
idea has a
dualistic counter part born from the transition from one to two, when
the first
bird is joined by another they must separate their tone by a half to
sound the
most harmonic, out of this ideal harmony are born the other lesser
ratios, of
which there are many. As far as we know bird created the first
orchestrations on earth, a complex chorus of tones that each interlock
with the
others to create a symphonic potential that is determined by the ratios
of
frequencies between birds of different species. The tones of
different
birds are both in tune but also distinct to identify their
species. This
necessity for distinction is an interesting force that can be compared
with the
adaptive radiation of creatures in reef environments, where creatures
have
become distinct in order to be seen in a spiraling frenzy of colorful
motion.
Another example is the explosive genetic transformations that happened
to
humans after we developed cities. This dualistic force is so
entrenched
into existence that the ratios of harmonic proportion are all around
us, as
shown by Pythagoras. These laws that govern the constructive
potential of
dynamical systems create the fact that: Complexity necessitates musical
proportion and accuracy of measure in order to synthesize a dynamic
unity of
observably distinct parts. There fore the dynamics of art is
greatly a
matter of combining harmonic intervals of distinct parts. The
idea that
observation must precede distinction reveals the perceptual limitations
of
understanding, there by placing sensitivity as the highest aesthetic
virtue. However, without the direction of an independent and free
choice
the sensitivity could be of little use dynamically speaking. This
independent sensitivity creates the ability to move through a bandwidth
of
these distinctions out side the mere conditionings of one geographic
region. However, the incorporation of sounds from the environment
reveals
how the mind can benefit from the sounds and noises of the world by
learning
and remembering sequences of motion that result in noise, even
arbitrary noise
will teach a musician another direction for the mind to move.
This
introduces the thought that the mind and the imagination can be formed
through
the storage of sounds and not necessarily images or more complex
ideological
constructs. Sound is a type of energy that enables the body to
comprehend
without having a memory of it, the brain stores information about
certain
sounds, not what the sound sounds like per se but what the potential
source is
or was, its existence signifies the actualization of a dream. The
mind
has the ability to connect images with words in such a way that n break
down
the perceptual constructs. This is similar to scrambling an image
which
can alter the same materials into a new construction of unidentifiable
origin. The body does not seem to have difficulty picking
out the
individual tones from chords or recognizing chords as separate
entities.
The dialogs of music theory and
non-objective art are quite linked indeed. I believe that there
are
certain observed valuations that can be distilled from every day
experience and
quantified into a musical writing system. Certain images can be
used as
counting tools for the recording of time fractions. Rotation,
quantity,
shape, and quantity of openings have been used to designate musical
constructs
such as duration/quantity, diatonic notes/shape, rests/rotation, and
openings/octave. The language itself was manifested in order to
separate
from digital devices for midi. It is a form art manifesto that is
outside
the computer and therefore not initially dependent on external devices,
but the
drawing is used to program the computer to record complex musical
phrases
later.
The musical patterns unleashed by
computers in recent years have shown the surprisingly deep well of
unexplored
terrain into logically asymmetrical sequences. The geometric
monster that
has grown from a place where order and disorder has never been so
close, it
negates the grid that music is traditionally unfolded upon. The
question
then becomes what happens to the written music? The software
interface
has replaced the ink of a pen. This has worked for a short while,
but I
believe radically new languages for music notation will be created in
order for
the artist to write the same sorts of sequences that only a computer
would play
back. A Symbolic construct must be used to designate certain
sounds hat
there is no instrument for. The incredibly small fractions of
time and
irrational time signatures make reading music with traditional notation
methods
confusing and hard to follow. The complexity of today's musical
phrasing
either requires a spontaneous improvisation or a recording
devise. Truly
free music is written once and requires the same playback devise,
because each
time a performance is played it is different and therefore its
continuity is
somewhat inexistent. Also, there are physical limitations to what
the
body is able to play, and this has held music in place for a
while. The
computer emancipates the mind body bond and allows the mental reflexes
and
imagination to travel far into the unknown.