Reverberating Light

Yael Erel

Artwork description:

Reverberating Light is a light and sound installation designed and led by Yael Erel incorporating dynamically reflected light drawings that engage with soundscapes by Pauline Oliveros, Jonas Braasch and Zack Layton recorded through the Dan Harpole Cistern System. Presented in EMPAC (CURTIS R. PRIEM EXPERIMENTAL MEDIA AND PERFORMING ARTS CENTER at Rensselaer) Studio 1 – Goodman.

Sound-responsive light projections shine onto augmented stainless steel discs and reflects dynamic light drawings, creating a sense that both the sound and the light are alive. Information developed from drawings of the cistern that originally inspired Pauline Oliveros's Deep Listening practice is engraved onto reflective stainless steel by a robotic arm. Once illuminated, the data engraved onto the reflective surface is transposed into light drawings. Multiple reflections from one light source create a sense of reverberation echoed in both light and sound.

As viewers enter the space they are immersed within a field of light and sound reverberation. Echoing the intent of Pauline Oliveros’s Deep Listening practice, this work aspires to support immersion and focus in a meditative space by enhancing the soundscape as a multi-sensory experience; providing an experience of wonder and play that extends our experience of physical phenomena. “Deep Listening involves going below the surface of what is heard, expanding to the whole field of sound while finding focus. This is the way to connect with the acoustic environment, all that inhabits it, and all that there is.” Pauline Oliveros