agusman-LookingOutwards-“Sound Objects” by Zimoun

Zimoun Sound Objects Compilation Video

Studio Zimoun’s Website

This series of “sound objects”, created by installation artist Zimoun are architectural soundscapes constructed from simple and functionally components. These components have ranged from ping pong balls, chains, cardboard boxes, springs and slats of wood, usually “activated” or displaced using an array of simple servo motors. While some of their more elaborate collaborative pieces incorporate plotters and hot plates, the majority of these sound objects call not to their complex build but the sonically resonant qualities of the commonplace materials used, especially in mass quantities. The architectural systems constructed from these individual sound objects articulate the tension between the orderly and the chaotic (or the chaotic within the orderly). Rather than a true sound being produced, these “sound objects” are characterized as emitting more of an acoustic hum that feels industrial, yet elegant.

I am extremely interested in the fabrication and facilitated performance of large-scale patterns- how intimate sonic and visual experiences can unfold from an environment, rather than an encapsulated piece of media. I also love how, through analog materials and motion, the “computational” aspects of this piece are downplayed in a very elegant way. To me, this really emphasizes what computational art is actually about- not the depictions of technology but of ideas. That being said, large-scale installations with functionality like these “sound objects” could not be accomplished easily without computation. The vastness of these patterns play to the computer’s ability to process large quantities of information and execute many outputs simultaneously.