Visual art is an exploration of space; music is the art of the permutation of time.

Leonard Shlain

.... The world we live in is a perpetual symphony of sensory information. It is all around us, from the neon colors reflected in a puddle on the street, to the quirky clanking of the pipes in our walls. We usually take this symphony for granted. The artist and the musician, however, present us with the gift of unique interpretations and perceptions of this symphony. The upcoming event, titled SOUNDSCAPE, will be a synergistic exhibition of what the artist has to show us, and what the musician has to tell us.

SOUNDSCAPE is a synergistic interaction of sight, sound, and crowd motion. Sixteen musicians will perform simultaneously, each one only in response to their two neighboring musicians.  They will be spread throughout the gallery, separated by wall configurations which function both as sound barriers and interactive environments where visual artists will create site-specific artworks of video, sculpture, architecture, and interactive sound and light installation. The works will be created in response to the music and the space.  As the audience moves throughout the space to view the artwork, the sound modulates and transforms. This layering of visual and auditory experience is the essence of SOUNDSCAPE.  The event will be held on September 14th and Saturday September 15th at 368 Congress St. in the Fort Point Channel area of Boston.  Please contact info@SOUNDSCAPE2007.com to receive a reminder invite closer to that date and get on our mailing list.  ADMISSION IS FREE.

The What

.... SOUNDSCAPE will take place, in a large space, which is detailed in the above diagram. Each red circle represents a single musician. The two paired circles at both ends of the chain represent a drum and bass duo, and the individual circles represent soloists. The two duos will be synchronized by monitor speakers. The black lines represent walls, constructed continuously from floor to ceiling, to isolate the sounds of the different areas. The musicians are linked, visually and audibly, only to their two neighbors. They will be playing in response only to these others. Even though the musicians’ playing will be quite free, musical cohesion will be maintained by playing the same vamps (simple defined musical motifs) and jazz tunes. The result will be a chain of sound that transforms from one area to the next, but has a smooth flow of communication. Throughout the space will be sight specific artworks, from lighting installation and sculpture, to video and architecture, which relate to ideas of motion, sound, space, and dynamic flow. As audience members move throughout the space to view the artwork the sound will modulate and change for their ears as the art does for their eyes.
.... The architectural component of this project consists of the walls’ configurations, and specific details of their construction, and the use of light to integrate visual art and architecture. The walls are not merely structures dividing the space, but canvases for the artists. They will be constructed straight, radiused, at slight angles, and out of plane as sculptural and video installations dictate. The back and forth communication between art and architecture is the visual and spatial parallel of the musical back and forth communication of the musicians.
.... Prior to the event, we will hold several rehearsals for the music performance, attended by both the musicians and the visual artists. The musicians will play, then the artists will respond. At the following rehearsal, the musicians will find a newly transformed environment. They will play again. The artists will respond further. The musicians will play again, and so on back and forth. This communication between different media, which are more related than may sometimes seem on the surface, is the core idea of SOUNDSCAPE. The process of this collaborative environment is what will allow a true synergy to happen between sight and sound.

The Why

.... SOUNDSCAPE is a concept, which has many unconventional aspects. The ideas of musical, sound, and visual art crossover will create a wholly new approach to experiencing music and seeing works of art. Within a single event we propose to challenge conventional modes of perception and participation, and create a unique experiential moment.
.... An important goal of the production is the presence of an extremely diverse crowd. The collaborative nature of this event will attract this crowd, and everyone will walk away with a sense of discovered possibility. The audience itself is part of the piece. Just as the artist interacts with matters of space, the audience will too in their presence among the architecture. Just as the musician interacts with matters of time, the audience will too, in their movements as a crowd throughout the performance. The SOUNDSCAPE is fully achieved by the energy of the crowd interacting with an environment of sights and sounds flooding their thoughts and senses.

The How

.... The knowledge and resources are present for SOUNDSCAPE to happen at a very high level of production. The Fort Point Arts Community organization will be acting as our fiscal agent so that we may accept tax deductible, charitable donations. To date, we have five committed sponsors, who are listed on the Sponsors page. The Fort Point Arts Community organization will be acting as our fiscal agent so that we may accept tax deductible, charitable donations. We hope to bring on board other sponsors to fund the event, but are proceeding regardless of whether further financial sponsorship is found or not.
Sponsorship for this production will also come in the form of the time and knowledge volunteered by skilled individuals of various technical expertise. Their skills, both technical and aesthetic, will be an essential part of the larger collaboration of this project.

The Who, Where, and When

.... Savvas Spyridopoulos of Boston, MA, is the overall producer and director of the event. Andy Voelker of Cambridge, MA is the musical director. Our sound engineer is Owen Curtin. We felt that to draw the diverse crowd we are seeking, SOUNDSCAPE needed to be held in a central location. That is why the event will be held at 368 Congress street in Fort Point Channel, Boston. Fort Point is a nerve center for studio artists in Boston. There are groups and individuals, working in media ranging from sculpture and video to painting and performance art. Many architecture and design firms are based in Fort Point. There are photography studios, filmmakers, and craftspeople in the area.
.... The space we have is ideally suited for SOUNDSCAPE. The main area of the SOUNDSCAPE production is detailed as the beige area on the above diagram. We will use the adjacent area, detailed in yellow in the layout above, to hold a reception area and have a more traditional gallery setup featuring works of the artists who also do more gallery or object oriented work.
SOUNDSCAPE will be held on September 14th and Saturday September 15th 2007. The event will be free admission.

.... SOUNDSCAPE is a unique opportunity for a visual arts/music event, which will foster collaboration between creative and technical people of various areas. This is a chance for the offerings of artists and musicians alike, to be interwoven in a project that will find a conceptual growth through the efforts of many different groups and individuals. Contractors, sound engineers, designers, musicians, and visual artists will all find themselves working together and sharing ideas and efforts for the realization of this concept. A concept, which will make the participants (audience, musicians, and artists) experience more fully, the deep intersensory connections, of the world around us.