Prompt

In design, a precedent is an existing project/work/idea/concept that demonstrates a novel approach or solution and exposes new concepts related to the context of the studio. In our studio, our goal is to investigate the sonic qualities of different spaces to design site-specific sound sculptures or sound machines that create unique experiences. To better prepare ourselves to tackle this challenge, and to help stimulate initial ideas, we will first explore different realms of design as inspiration - this is called precedent research.

Deliverable:

Create a post in the Responses tab above, and for each project that you select, answer the guiding questions.

Prompt

In design, a precedent is an existing project/work/idea/concept that demonstrates a novel approach or solution and exposes new concepts related to the context of the studio. In our studio, our goal is to investigate the sonic qualities of different spaces to design site-specific sound sculptures or sound machines that create unique experiences. To better prepare ourselves to tackle this challenge, and to help stimulate initial ideas, we will first explore different realms of design as inspiration - this is called precedent research.

Deliverable:

Create a post in the Responses tab above, and for each project that you select, answer the guiding questions.

Luigi Russolo, Intonarumoris, 1913

Lisboa, Museu Coleção Berardo, 2012

The Original Noise Artist: Hear the Strange Experimental Sounds & Instruments of Italian Futurist, Luigi Russolo (1913) | by Josh Jones | Open Culture | 2018

When you hear the phrase Art of Noise, surely you think of the sample-based avant-garde synth outfit whose instrumental hit “Moments in Love” turned the sound of quiet storm adult contemporary into a hypnagogic chill-out anthem? And when you hear about “noise music," surely you think of the dramatic post-industrial cacophony of Einstürzende Neubautenor the deconstructed guitar rock of Lightning Bolt?

But long before “noise” became a term of art for rock critics, before the recording industry existed in any recognizably modern form, an Italian futurist painter and composer, Luigi Russolo, invented noise music, launching his creation in 1913 with a manifesto called The Art of Noises.

“In antiquity,” he writes (in Robert Filliou’s translation), “life was nothing but silence.” After presenting an almost comically brief history of sound and music coming into the world, Russolo then declares his thesis, in bold:

Noise was really not born before the 19th century, with the advent of machinery. Today noise reigns supreme over human sensibility…. Nowadays musical art aims at the shrillest, strangest and most dissonant amalgams of sound. Thus we are approaching noise-sound. This revolution of music is paralleled by the increasing proliferation of machinery sharing in human labor.

Not quite so radical as one might think, but bear in mind, this is 1913, the year Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” provoked a riot in Paris upon its debut. Russolo took an even more shocking swerve away from tradition. Pythagorean theory had stifled creativity, he alleged, “the Greeks… have limited the domain of music until now…. We must break at all cost from this restrictive circle of pure sounds and conquer the infinite variety of noise-sounds.”

To accomplish his grand objective, the experimental artist created his own series of instruments, the Intonarumori, “acoustic noise generators,” writes Thereminvox, that could “create and control in dynamic and pitch several different types of noises.” Working long before digital samplers and the electronic gadgetry used by industrial and musique concrete composers, Russolo relied on purely mechanical devices, though he did make several recordings as well from 1913 to 1921. (Hear "Risveglio Di Una Città" from 1913 above, and many more original recordings as well as new Intonarumori compositions, at Ubuweb.)

Russolo's musical contraptions, 27 different varieties, were each named “according to the sound produced: howling, thunder, crackling, crumpling, exploding, gurgling, buzzing, hissing, and so on.” (Stravinsky was apparently an admirer.) You can see reconstructions at the top of the post in a 2012 exhibition at Lisbon’s Museu Coleção Berardo. Many of his own compositions feature string orchestras as well. Russolo introduced his new instrumental music over the course of a few years, debuting an “exploder” in Modena in 1913, staging concerts in Milan, Genoa, and London the following year, and in Paris in 1921.

One 1917 concert apparently provoked explosive violence, an effect Russolo seemed to anticipate and even welcome. The Art of Noise derived its influence from every sound of the industrial world, “and we must not forget the very new noises of Modern Warfare,” he writes, quoting futurist poet Marinetti’s joyful descriptions of the “violence, ferocity, regularity, pendulum game, fatality” of battle. His noise system, which he enumerates in the treatise, also consists of “human voices: shouts, moans, screams, laughter, rattlings, sobs….” It seems that if he didn’t supply these onstage, he was happy for the audience to do so.

After Russolo’s first Art of Noise concert in 1913, Marinetti violently defended the instruments against assaults from those whom the composer called “passé-ists.” Other receptions of the strange new form were more enthusiastically positive. Nonetheless, notes a 1967 “Great Bear Pamphlet” that reprints The Art of Noises, the effects aren’t exactly what Russolo intended: “Listening to the harmonized combined pitches of the bursters, the whistlers, and the gurglers, no one remembered autos, locomotives or running waters; one rather experienced an intense emotion of futurist art, absolutely unforeseen and like nothing but itself.” 

FULL ARTICLE: The Original Noise Artist: Hear the Strange Experimental Sounds & Instruments of Italian Futurist, Luigi Russolo (1913)

Prompt

Now that we've brainstormed and sketched and prototyped and FINALLY landed on a solid idea, it's time to delve into your final prototype.

Think about these questions as you construct:

• Can you add another level of elegance, refinement, or more creativity to your design?
• Does the shape of each component of your design have anything to do with its function or use?
• If your object is interactive, how can you invite users in using only the visual nature of your design?
• Is your project the right size? Does it need to be bigger or smaller? 

In design, there should be a clear progression from one set of prototypes to the next as you make design decisions. 

Important: Make sure you really examine the full range of materials available to you in this studio and make thoughtful choices about which materials you're using and why.

• Does it move in the way you want it to?
• When you test your design with your friends and family, how do they respond? Could it be easier to use? Could it be more intuitive?
• Does your prototype work the way you want it to? What are some mechanical kinks that you need to work out?

Deliverable

1. Improve the form and function of your project through iterative design 
2. Take high-quality pictures of the finished prototype being worn and used.

In the response tab:

1. Photographs of your final prototype 
2. Close-up photographs of your final prototype that show the quality of the design 
3. Photographs of your final prototype that clearly communicate how people engage with it 

Folding Techniques for Designers: From Sheet to Form

Download a pdf copy for your reference here Paper Folding Guide

Deliverables:

Create a post to document your completed folds.

Update your initial post when completing more folds.

***Do not throw anything away before documenting your work; document your "failures" along with the successful folds.***

Description:

We will create our first prototypes as full-scale mock-ups to explore different sound effects and shapes. This is your chance to experiment with various design elements.

Blog Post:

• Photos of your sketches and prototypes.
• A summary of your design process and testing results.
• Observations and feedback from your testing experience.

Materials Needed:

• Cardboard
• Glue gun
• Fasteners
• Tape
• Scissors/cutter
• Ruler
• Safety gear

Musical Interventions are site-specific sculptures that engage attention through the interactive production of sound. In this studio, students will investigate the sonic qualities of different spaces to design sculptural sound machines that create thought provoking experiences. Students will begin their creative process by researching different types of music and instruments, cultural events, and significant spaces. These interventions will take the experience of music and culture from a passive listening to an active participation. Students will learn about musical concepts and instrument prototyping and then create responsive sound sculptures. 

Prompt:

In this two-part exercise, you will spend some time exploring the different parts of your campus/school to investigate different sounds.

Then, you will compile a playlist of up to 3 different "listening spots" recordings to share with the whole class. The final goal is to be able to recreate these recordings with materials you find in your classroom.

Deliverables:

• Submit the outdoor "listening spot" recordings
• Videos of you making the sounds for each of the recreated recordings
• Descriptions of each of the recordings