Artistic D/deaf project, wanna help???
well im truely stuck on this one!! and I know there are a few other artists ammong us, so may a shyly ask you for some sugestions and help.
I am on a 2 week sculpture project in art college, simi based on myself. the title is ‘The Physical self’
I started with using my deafness as a sourse of inspiration, and im rolling with it, but its turned to the idea of me moving from an audio world to a visiual world,and heightened visiual awarness in (D)deaf people, which is exactly is whats happening to me!, now where i, stuck is, how do I incorporate it into a sculptural art project. It doesnt have to be traditional in clay or anything, I can use media and photography which is what Im at home with.
I have researched deaf artists, but nearly all of them dont put their deafness into their work, and this IS what I wanna do. I came across a photographer, Adam Fuss,he not deaf, who does beautifull shots of rain drops and this gave me an idea, of basing my photos on things that produce sound, but that you can also SEE their action!! like rain drops. but rain drops is all i can think of, as well as some other little ones, like leaves being carried on the wind,also I would like to create something 3D something people can see and touch, but I dont know what! I have till friday this morning and I was wondering if you creative people could help me?? and you will be credited for your contribution 
thank you for your time
January 29th, 2006 at 12:14 pm
That sounds really interesting, and I think it’s great that you want to put your deafness into your work. As a hopelessly uncreative person myself I can’t think of any brilliant ideas (and I bet there are people here who can), but what about something which somehow gives people an experience of silence? I mean I know that sculpture is usually silent anyway, but I’m thinking of something which would actually kind of give off silence to anyone coming into it or whatever. Oh dear, I’m rambling hopelessly here…and you’re all creative and everything
January 29th, 2006 at 12:57 pm
Lette,
Ever thought of basing your deafness and relating to your new music headphones but without the wiring? Think of this way…those who go to the gun range to shoot have to wear ear mufflers that resemble head-phones, yes? Would’nt that also be a way of representing our world of silence?
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You’re into music..use that theme and how it relates to deafness that you deal with. It’s very easy..buy a crappy headset that you can buy and paint over it…then create a ‘no sign’ over the ear symbol on both sides of the head phones..to symbolize “No sound”.
It’s simple, gets people wondering..headphones? They have to look closer to get a certain abstract on your point of view to ‘get it’
Or do a series of photographs of your hearing-aid(s) and the headphones..you can super-impose them on Photoshop as translucent layers..something to tinker with.
I would go with a duo-tone format with a little gray in the mix..if silence was a color..what would it be?
It’s either Black or White…but I think it’s white…just like the cinema of japanese film-makers where they would create samurai dueling scenes and if one of them dies in the fight, the background turns white in a ‘white death’ aspect as the samurai falls.
It’s often used a lot in anime/japanimation..:)
January 29th, 2006 at 8:13 pm
Lette,
I’d probably handle it this way: A hand at the second it hits a drum. A bell being rung- with the center-thingy hitting the sides. A trumpet player’s cheeks as they puff out to blow air through the instrument. Water running in a sink. A windchime blowing in the wind (all tangled up), a photograph of someone laughing. An ambulance, motion-blurred, with the lights (and presumably the sirens) going. A photogrpah of the inside of a club with people dancing and all the bright lights.
All of these things make sounds, and they all have visual represenations of the sound. Sounds you once heard but may no longer hear.
Your photographs will be silent, but will evoke the inner memory of how the sounds should sound. But that’s all that it is- the memory, because photographs don’t make noise.
January 29th, 2006 at 8:15 pm
My idea would probably need reinforcement of words to make it obvious. Superimposing “silence” over them in Photoshop, maybe. Or working something into the whole thing that talks about the memories of sound, and how the things you see trigger those memories and leave your brain hunting for what it knows it should hear.
January 30th, 2006 at 1:28 am
I’m not much of an artist, but what about… using an image projector of some sort to show a photo of rain drops against the wall. And have the sound of rain playing in the background.
Start with the image out of focus, and the sound very audible.
Progressively focus the image so it becomes crystal-clear. Soften the noise so that it’s barely there.
This, to me, would show how your emphasis on perceiving the world has changed from aural to visual.
I had a great time looking at “designer hearing aids for the future” at the V&A Museum- maybe you’ll find inspiration in that exhibit? Article/slideshow: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4706923.stm
January 30th, 2006 at 2:07 am
OO! I like the one in the gallery that is described as “This device - by Tangerine - allows the user to define their field of hearing - close range in a noisy bar or zoom when listening for something in the distance.”
January 30th, 2006 at 6:04 am
OMG!! ur all brilliant, even you nigel you all have given me fantastic sugestions, and im going to incorporate them ALL in my work
I love the photo, music projector things and the idea that nigel gave to go ‘in’ somewhere to portray silence is fantastic!!
But adam has sparked an arguement with me!! :p I dont agree scilence is black and white or even gray!! since It has happened to me, iv become increasingly aware visiually and i have to say, my life has never been more colourful
Thank you all folks!
as for the projecter thingy I got an idea to project an image of lots of writing on to someones lips to show lip reading!! I dunno but it may work, I LOVE ALL YER IDEAS!! W00t im happy out!!
any more?? keep them commin!! cheers guys
January 30th, 2006 at 1:11 pm
Okay, so maybe not so in black and white nor gray, but duo-tones..as in 2 colors..one color could represent the severity of hearing loss of one ear and the other…say RED represents severe and orange is Profound..etc.
.
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So, therefore, for each headset you use to represent the silence..you poke holes on each side. For instance, the profound ‘headset’ has none..the severe headset may have 1 or 2 holes to let a tiny bit of sound in..and the better the hearing, the more holes you can create.
That is, if it’s possible to use them as “wearable” sculptural designs
If you want to use photographs, what about using nature such as trees moving? You can’t SEE the wind but can ‘imagine’ hearing it? So, what’s invisible that we cannot see but can hear?
Something to think about
January 30th, 2006 at 3:58 pm
I’ll tell you something that I can (sometimes) hear but not see- and since I have no sense of hearing direction, I am always a little freaked out.
I hate it when I can hear a car on the road, but not know where it is, or whether it’s coming or going- same with footsteps.
January 30th, 2006 at 4:03 pm
I feel divided between Adam’s two-tone argument, and Lette’s vivid color argument.
My two cents: My life is divided between “sound on” and “sound off” (two-tone). Though I can totally see Lette’s idea of colors- I usually feel most relaxed when my hearing aids are off (that is, if I chose to turn them off)- and the visual experience is more intense.
January 30th, 2006 at 4:19 pm
I’ve had the same feelings when looking at paintings – with my hearing aids turned off I get a much more concentrated experience without the sounds of other people to distract me.
January 30th, 2006 at 5:43 pm
Katie- I hate it when I hear an ambulance, but have no idea how near/far it is, or what direction it’s coming from. I tend to experience most sounds as if they’re directly behind me. So I’ll sometimes whirl around looking for whate a sound is coming from. And it always stays behind me. Spooky.
January 31st, 2006 at 6:59 am
Hmmmm sound direction, that could be interesting!! may do some sort of surround sound effect!! Well I have till friday and iv still TONS to do!! thank you all for the help, ye are stars
January 31st, 2006 at 1:11 pm
HohProf,
I checked the libraries…2 local ones don’t have Vergo..the UVM library does but I don’t think it’s for the public and rather for students. It’s the only option and if they are for the university itself only, then I have no choice but to buy Vergo’s books :/.
Back in Cleveland, their libraries are top notch..literally have everything..even the local university’s library was for the public, especially my old art school.
January 31st, 2006 at 5:17 pm
Just wanted to say I was reading and wish you the best with this. I’m about as artistic as a very boring brick, so I don’t think I have anything good to say. My ideas are all a bit scientific…
Could you include some kind of interactivity in your installation? A friend of mine once went to a museum where there was an exhibit which allowed you to hear stuff in the room in realtime with filtering - ie specific freequency stuff. she was able to demonstrate the effect of her hearing loss to her partner cos it allowed her to kill all the midrange frequencies on this clip of music. Her partner thought it all sounded normal, till he realised there was no lyrics - she couldn’t hear the speech frequency lyrics.
January 31st, 2006 at 6:24 pm
yeap, thats what i did for my first installation on this project
I did a sound installation using garageband on my mac, and I messed with certain filters t make it all muffled and basey and killed some frequencies!! it made for very cool reactions!! I did it so people could pop on some headfones and speak, then there would be a delay and they would then hear them selves through my ears so to speak!! I did some recordings through it too ant it was great!! but it was all guess work on my part as I couldnt really hear it, though I had tons of fun, and Id love to do it again, but i need to be different this time round, though I am stcking with the same topic!! 
January 31st, 2006 at 6:42 pm
Sanctum – sorry you haven’t had any luck with those books up in VT – but then again, they *would* be very nice to own
February 1st, 2006 at 1:24 am
I agree, hohProf. I discovered that I can borrow the books at UVM’s library but the guest borrower card costs $42.00…that’s expensive.
Preferably, I’d rather own the books than check them out
February 1st, 2006 at 6:51 am
Sanctum – hell yes! At that price you might as well own the books
February 1st, 2006 at 11:41 am
I agree!
I want both of those Vergo books bad. I lucked out with Harold Speed’s Practice & Science of Drawing for $12 bucks at a nearby bookstore..classic text.
February 2nd, 2006 at 9:06 pm
PROJECT UPDATE! Its finished and it went great
check out the photos and concept here 
so ur all famose!!! 
hehe!
http://www.kimododreams.com/lette/
thank you to everyone, all ur ideas and this site has gone into my sketchbook of ideas
February 2nd, 2006 at 9:27 pm
Lette, clever idea.
Is that you in the pictures? If it is, wow- you’re cute. You look bouncy even when your face is serious.
February 2nd, 2006 at 9:45 pm
hahaha yeah its me!! thank you sara!! its my eyes they crazy bouncy!! :p
February 3rd, 2006 at 12:03 am
Cool, Lette