OBJECTS IN-BETWEEN
Lindsay Cooper | Scotty Keck | Kyle Schertzing
Aided by our hands, our minds, a strained budget, and the full use of the Digital Fabrication Laboratory, our task was set before us—the design and full scale construction of an 'object.' through our counsel this object became, to us, a medium through which sound could be generated. Our intent was to produce a construct that would induce sounds incidental, uncalibrated, much like sound made from running a stick along a fence, or tapping a foot on the floor, rather than playing a guitar or oboe.

We embarked upon individually designing the form of our sound generator, aware of the need for 'inhabitable' spaces and an appealing aesthetic. Within my initial design sketches I played with the notion of a body's possible movement around and within the structure. This consideration was further developed through a clay study model. This study was created with a body's relation to the form in mind. Also of consideration was the form's inherent acoustic qualities. The clay study model was intended to suggest the spirit of the final construct rather than prescribe form.

As the design was furthered, we were faced with the question of what object or group of objects outside of the form could create the 'found' sounds we desired. These objects, we decided, should be held on or within or punched through the layers of constructed MDF. Initially included in the list of possible sonic members were guitar strings and drum skins. However, through the qualms of the fabrication process, and in a spirit of minimalism, we decided upon only using PVC tubes of various lengths and widths, and water-filled wine bottles.
The looseness of its form and airiness of its construction lend to it a sense of rhythm, of rising beats, an evolution of sound. It starts from the ground, moves to a crescendo and falls back, resembling the ephemeral occurrence of happenstance sonic moments. I designed a form whose walls meander back and forth, seeming to come into existence through the consideration and subsequent circumvention of the players aligned in its path. The form envelops the players, yet allows sight of their movements. In the words of one of my project associates, its "slithering-like qualities express movement; the undulating folds become inhabitable." Read Less