LO: Sonic Computational Art

Game of Skill 2.0 is a piece created by deaf sound artist Christine Sun Kim that explores the relationship between labor and listening. With the use of magnets, velcro strips, and custom electronic pieces driven by a sound/position tracking code, Kim is able to represent the subjectivity in an activity that seems so instinctual and simple for those without hearing disabilities. 

As the computational electronic system produces a radio sound that responds to the players’ direction and speed, Kim’s piece lends another perspective to the world in which we exist. This begs the question, “how much harder do those hard-of-hearing or deaf need to work in order to reap an experience that the hearing community takes for granted?” Through the use of an interactive installation experience, Kim is able to create a space in which everyone has to work just as hard to produce radio noise, all while drawing parallels between a game of skill and a ‘natural’ daily activity. 

While exploring Kim’s work and specifically her piece Game of Skill 2.0,  I began to question the ability for us to use computational art and diving into a wide range of mediums and elements in order to transform our artwork into tools to create a more equitable society. Although the coding that goes on behind the scenes may be far more complicated than the actual activity of dragging a stemmed-radio-machine along a velcro strap gives itself to be, it creates opportunity to help offer a range perspectives and open minds in an approachable environment.