I’m listening to the Coronavirus Spike Protein…
Stern’s main point is to make us think more fully and more critically about “…what counts in the domain of cyberculture studies…” which he does “…by exploring some aspects of contemporary media culture via sound…” He argues that this has not been accidentally left out of the narrative as “…when we write a history, the inclusions and exclusions are the result of conscious, methodical choices by the historian…” Hence, “…visual design is… at the center of cyberculture studies, the auditory dimension is almost always left out...”.
This led me to investigate examples of audio in cyberculture where I found not only how Yu et al had given a voice to the the virus (mentioned above), but also:
- Total Solar Eclipse Sonification w/Kronos Quartet | Exploratorium
- Tattoos That Play Sound [starts at 3:03]
- Sound on Intuition
I am particularly intrigued by the last example, which turns voluntary and (automatic) involuntary movement into sound. What are the potentially for this to capture involuntary movement that is a reaction to environment: blood pressure, heart rate, blink rate… but also involuntary ‘tics’ or stimming? Is this possible to transform what might be viewed as ‘negative’ body movements into music? Could hearing your changes in movement help someone be more aware of their body’s response and hence their emotional response to a situation? Could a soundscape of the occupants of a space help the designer understand how it was making them feel?
As Sterne also points out, if we have neglected the auditory, what about the other senses? I am excited to explore Cyberculture as a multi-sensory experience.
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