ROOM PIECES.....multi-channel extended duration sound installations that use a modular compositional approach characterized by a wide variety of sonic material. The context of presentation is crucial: each manifestation of ROOM PIECES takes on a unique identity based on the nature of the space in which it is installed.

...defines points in space and coordinates these points by the juxtaposition of related sounds, weaving a spatial geometry, a continuously shifting grid of multi-point relations with the listener as axis. Rather than “virtual space”, an imitation of a world outside this one, ROOM PIECES intersects the real world, sectionalizing space according to acoustic phenomena.

...works with memory to create grids of time as complements to the geometry of space. Autonomous sound elements combine to form clusters of disparate structures, shifting contexts and remembered places and moments. Personal memories clash with collective; cultural influences beyond any individual vision inform the reception of compositional decisions. Every element remains highly independent, articulating its unique path into the future, but tied at every moment to coincidental, unpredictable simultaneities. ROOM PIECES is a counterpoint of fully-formed voices, separated, juxtaposed, in space and time.

To date there have been 34 instances of ROOM PIECES beginning in 1991 with a 12 channel installation in an apartment on Sullivan Street in New York City. Subsequent realizations have taken place in a variety of settings, including a bar, art galleries, museums, public spaces, a hi-fi store and concert halls. The latest realization is a 22 channel version in an apartment in Sunset Park, Brooklyn that runs 24/7.

ROOM PIECES is about listening, calling conscious attention to a mechanism that is normally instinctive. It is about the natural ebb and flow of our engagement of sonic phenomena, how we are sometimes attentive, sometimes distracted, sometimes mindful of our environment and “in-the-moment”, and other times self-absorbed. These different “states” have associated modes of listening, all of which are explored in ROOM PIECES.

The timing and placement of the various sounds that make up the installation mimic how sounds occur in the “real world”, some loud, some soft, some near, some far, some disturbing, some mundane, some persistent, some abrupt, some that force themselves into ones consciousness, others that drone on and are only noticed when they fall silent.

The structure is modular, consisting (to date) of about 200 components that are re-assembled to create a specific instance of the piece. For any given realization there may be a significant number of new modules created, given the unique character of every location. The basic organizing principle is the alternation, in each module, of sound and silence. The ratio of one to the other, which is flexible, determines the textural characteristics of a particular installation.

A “module” is defined as a specific sound as well as the process used by the computer to execute the sound in “real-time”. Sounds include simple sine tones, both sustained and articulated, instrumental sounds, synthesized sounds, field recordings, and sounds culled from various sources like the World Wide Web, films and CDs. 

ROOM PIECES explores the repercussions of utilizing the computer as a medium for creating art, examining issues and aspects such as algorithmic structure, controlled random processes, data volatility, system stability, the nature of memory, both human and digital, and the role of the composer given a medium that takes over so many of the tasks traditionally executed by human beings.

ROOM PIECES is a work-in-progress. It includes work from the late 1980s and continues to evolve with new sounds and refinements of the formal techniques. There have been a number of distinct phases in its evolution, each characterized by an expansion of the sonic material.

Michael J. Schumacher, January 2006

LIVING ROOM PIECES is a specific instance of ROOM PIECES designed for installation in people’s homes. It is a 24-hour a day installation that integrates sound into the living environment. It is algorithmically generated, never ending, never repeating. It utilizes a multi-channel sound system of up to 24 speakers, placed in every room as well as in closets and hallways. Sounds occur unpredictably and range from noise to music. There is a great deal of “silence”. The installation becomes sparser and quieter at night, louder and more active during the day (this varies from site to site; there may be situations where the reverse is called for, or where the varying of density and volume is independent of the time of day).

The requirements for realization are:

1. An apartment with at least 3 rooms
2. computer (Mac mini OK)
3. external hard drive (120 Gbyte min)
4. audio interface (RME Fireface or MOTU 828)
5. ADAT to Analog Converter (Alesis AI3)
6. Digital to Analog converter (Flying Cow)
7. Radio with line output
8. CD player with line output
9. amplifiers (2 12 channel Niles or Russound, for example)
10. 24 speakers (bookshelf type; uniformity preferred)
11. cables.

Visitors may visit at any time for any length of time. There should be a bedroom and a functioning kitchen. The installation should run at least one week and preferably at least one month.

LIVING ROOM PIECES provides a framework for engaging sound. It is not a piece of music in the familiar sense, though pieces of music are a part of it. It is an active impetus to a heightened mental state that begins with listening.

LIVING ROOM PIECES posits non-control as a path to freedom. The illusion is that as consumers, we control our environment. More likely, our acts and thoughts are delimited by the mechanisms of consumer “choice”. Freedom exists in the moment-to-moment communion with the world at large. Then we realize that freedom is not control, it is the unobstructed flow of ideas and feelings through the organism.

LIVING ROOM PIECES removes “choice” from the listener’s experience. It counters the notion of music as mood enhancer, presenting the listener with a world of openness and potential, rather than a closed system of localized needs and desires. The false sense of “entitlement” that underlies much of consumer culture is replaced by toleration for the unexpected, openness to ideas and influence.

Sounds in LIVING ROOM PIECES are autonomous modules that enjoy a high degree of independence from each other. The organizing principle is the alternation between sound and silence in each module, which follows its own path through time, existing in the space as an entity with a strong individual identity. Sounds intermingle in continuously shifting ways, providing new contexts for each other, masking and reinforcing each other.

SUSTENTO
[The impetus for Sustento came as I was listening to one of my own algorithmic works and realized that in all likelihood I would be the only person ever to hear the work as it was intended to be heard. I realized also that there was a whole genre of electronic music that suggested a way of listening that required intimacy and long time periods, and that even in the best of gallery situations there were still too many distractions and ultimately not enough time to fully experience works of this sort.

As I thought more about this idea it became increasingly important to radically distinguish a Sustento collection from the typical home listening paradigm of a stereo and records or CDs. It became clear that the installation should play freely, unmodified by the moment to moment preferences of the person listening. The loudness of a particular piece, for example, once set, could not be changed. In the end, the only choice that the listener would be able to make is to mute the sound entirely...]

SUSTENTO is a new initiative to disseminate sound art.

Sustento brings together artists, architects, designers, acousticians and computer programmers to create installations that integrate sound into the living environment, transforming people’s daily listening experience.

Sustento focuses on computer-based, multi-channel works installed in the home.

Founded by Michael J. Schumacher, director of Diapason Gallery in New York,  Sustento creates installations that integrate sound into the living environment,  transforming people’s everyday listening experience. Each installation engenders  collaboration  between  artists,  architects,  designers,  acousticians  and  computer  programmers to produce an integrated, immersive, and unique sonic environment.  Our approach, based on a realistic treatment of the medium and an acknowledgement  of its characteristic properties, successfully addresses the main challenges confronting  the collector of works of sound art.

Sustento is based on notions of listening first articulated by pioneers such as John Cage and La Monte Young. Cage spoke of the potential for interest and beauty in sounds one usually ignores, whereas Young creates immersive installations that have no time limit. A generation of artists have built on these ideas, however, only relatively traditional spaces exist for the presentation of their works. Sustento relocates the experience to ones personal space, creating installations that permit a new form of listening, one that moves freely between unfocussed, ambient hearing and concentrated attention.

www.sustentosoundart.com
under construction

DIAPASON , a program of TonalMotion Inc, is a charitable organization founded by choreographer Elizabeth Gerring (Liz Gerring Dance Company) and composer Michael Schumacher. Diapason exists to offer the public an appropriate listening environment for contemporary music and sound art. Diapason also provides an opportunity for discourse relating to experimental and emerging art forms involving sound amongst an international community of artists and art centers.

http://diapasongallery.org