Sound Drawings

Sound Drawings can be exhibited as either a performance or displayed as an ongoing installation. The work consists of 10 large pieces of paper, each with a speaker and a sound circuit connected to two copper strips. A pencil line is drawn between the two copper strips utilizing the electrical properties of graphite to complete an oscillator circuit. The performer (or viewer) begins moving from drawing to drawing connecting the copper on each paper with a thin graphite line. The drawings begin to produce low frequency clicking sounds. As the performance continues, each line is thickened and widened with the addition of more graphite, which decreases the resistance between the two copper strips. The resultant change in frequency causes the sounds to escalate to high pitched squeals. Once the drawings reach a crescendo, an eraser is used to break the graphite circuit and silences the sounds. The effect is that the sound moves and changes within the exhibition space and thereby changes the acoustic landscape.