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GC Digital Initiatives Sound Series presents an interactive talk with Zach Poff, a New York area media artist, educator, and maker-of-things.  His artwork is rooted in open systems that eschew individual authorship in favor of collaborative or generative models. His algorithmic remixes of popular media uncover hidden subtexts lurking inside familiar forms (Parallel Rhetoric, Radio Silence, Video Silence). Other recent work employs unique sound tools to explore the web of social and ecological relationships that challenge and sustain us (Pond Station, Sferics). He considers his art-making, teaching, and software development to be contributions toward a culture of sharing and empathy, in direct opposition to commercial media’s cult of the individual.

In this talk, Zach Poff will introduce “expanded” recording techniques using D.I.Y transducers to reveal hidden sounds, sonify non-acoustic phenomena, and challenge the assumption of the human listening subject recording “in the field.” We will explore contact mics (which respond to the vibrations of objects), binaural mics (for 3D audio), hydrophones (for underwater listening), synesthetic light-to-sound conversion, VLF radio, and ultrasound. We will listen to examples of sound art, music, and installation works where expanded recordings provoke conversations about subject-hood and “post-human” listening, taking into consideration how the work is diffused into space (via traditional and specialized speaker designs, soundwalks, broadcasting, live-streaming, etc). These techniques are quite accessible for those with more curiosity than money, so he’ll share his resources to help you build transducers for your own work. Bring a sound recorder if you would like to probe CUNY GC’s hidden soundfields.

The 2017-2018 GCDI Sound Series #GCDISound includes talks and workshops on topics related to sound analysis, comparison, theory, production, and recording. This series explores a variety of research methods and perspectives on sound, including audio annotation and processing, oral histories and interviews, soundscapes, and DIY audio equipment. We invite scholars from all disciplines to explore ways we can study and use sound in our scholarship and pedagogy.

This event is free and open to the public. RSVPs are encouraged: Register HERE.