Tangible Sound: Immersions

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Imagine being able to walk inside the thunderous sound of a taiko drum or feel enveloped by the sinuous sounds of a saxophone or cello or bass. What if your body became part of a visual mapping of colors and textures and movement that resonated with bone-tingling sound vibrating in your ears? With this Tangible Sound: Immersions project, I will be creating environments of moving sound pictures that reflect the energy, patterns, and colors of creative improvised music, with a goal of delivering a fully sensory, multimedia exhibition experience that connects, uplifts, and transforms our human spirit.  

About This Project

When I first encountered creative improvised music in my early twenties, I experienced it as an almost religious epiphany. The music spoke to me of freedom; a liberation theology that expressed the universal creative energy that empowered its makers and transformed its listeners as if we were all hearing a newly discovered truth; a “power stronger than itself.” I began to figure out a way to translate that power into visual equivalents through my camera, with the idea of conveying the enormity of the experience; the way it regularly shifted the earth from under my feet, and how it also shook up the way I thought about making photographs.

The advent of digital technology exponentially broadened the scale of possibilities. I was thrilled to discover ways of visually interpreting the sound itself, by moving my body and camera in response to the music, while leaving the camera shutter open to collect both the movement and light. When I showed this work to musicians they often commented that it looked like what they saw in their minds when they were playing—suggesting that I had indeed found a successful conduit to their creativity.

I exhibited some large pieces of this new work in a small gallery space in Poland. Walking into the room I felt enveloped by the bright energy and textures of sound leaping off the walls. It was at that moment I knew I wanted to create a way to feel as if you were inside the music itself. I soon realized that animating these images would provide an even more dynamic way of visually experiencing sound. Now I am eager to project images as big as a room or even an entire building to convey the transformational experience of a power stronger than itself. 

I am also excited to be collaborating with other artists for the first time to realize my vision: L. Koo, whose practice draws primarily on photographic methods as well as elements of sculpture, video, and sound, and Kioto Aoki, an analog photographer and experimental filmmaker who explores different modes of perception are assisting me in tech design, image curation, and animation.

The first Tangible Sound installation will take place in Winter 2023 or early Spring 2024 at Asian Improv aRts Midwest’s new Cultural Hub on the north side of Chicago. It will include live performances by collaborators and others to be announced. This first installation connects Japanese traditional and contemporary artistry to the larger scope of jazz in Chicago.  

3AP funding for this project will support compensation for my collaborators and the performing artists and also the material costs of the projection technology. But most importantly, your generous donation will open new doors to transform the human spirit! 

Thank yous

Contribute any amount or choose from the levels below.

• $25
  Special thanks on social media and signed Tangible Sound notecard ($23.00 is tax deductible.)
• $50
  A set of 5 Tangible Sound notecards printed by Lauren, plus thanks on social media. ($40.00 is tax deductible.)
• $150
  An 8x10 signed Tangible Sound print, your name acknowledged in the exhibition program, and special thanks on social media. ($100.00 is tax deductible.)
• $250
  A signed 10x 12 Tangible Sound print, your name acknowledged in the exhibition program, and special thanks on social media. ($200.00 is tax deductible.)
• $350
  Tangible Sound signed hard cover book, acknowledgement in program, and special thanks on social media. ($320.00 is tax deductible.)
• $500
  A signed, unframed 11x14 Tangible Sound print, signed hard cover book, your name acknowledged in the program, and special thanks on social media. ($420.00 is tax deductible.)
• $1000
  Invitation to a private walk-through of the exhibition, plus everything at the $500 level. ($920.00 is tax deductible.)

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Lauren Deutsch

Make a Wave Artist

Lauren was born in Chicago in 1956 and raised on Chicago’s south side. She ended her formal training in the mid 70s and became an autodidact, beginning a body of work investigating creative improvised music and documenting its community of …

View Lauren Deutsch's profile

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• Thank you to the following for contributing to 3Arts with the recommendation that we support this project.

  • Peter Kostakis

  • Susan Gzesh

  • Karen Risinger

  • Dan Melnick

  • Brian Myerholtz

  • Anonymous Supporter

  • Dayna CALDERON

  • Ben Deutsch

  • ROSE ROGERS

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