Date of Graduation

12-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts in Art (MFA)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Art

Advisor/Mentor

Springer, Bethany L.

Committee Member

Byrd, Stefani

Second Committee Member

Hogan, Adam S.

Third Committee Member

Posnak, Adam

Fourth Committee Member

Wilson, Nicole

Keywords

Ambisonic; Drone music; Electroacoustic; Improvisation; Sound; Sound Art

Abstract

Oscillith Matara is a series of improvisational acousmatic compositions that explore themes of birth, death, trauma and transformation. Each composition is an entry from a log of my daily practice. This practice is a meditation using electronic instruments as feedback devices to explore my states of consciousness as it relates to my present situation and personal history. The sound generated through this process of reflecting and responding acts as a cathartic medium for processing depression, anxiety and chronic pain. As a thesis exhibition Oscillith Matara is presented as a group of selected works and is performed as a fixed duration acousmatic concert. These selections share a personal and private activity curated for a public audience. For the public, Oscillith Matara becomes a bottled experience for others to engage with. The goal of sharing selections from this body of work is that any benefit that I have gained in the cathartic process of creating it might be transferred to another through listening to it. The written portion of the thesis describes the personal history that led to my use of sound as an introspective tool. It is described through a series of textual vignettes of thoughts and experiences that my sonic work is translated from. Further chapters illustrate the process and tools by which the works are created and curated into what becomes the public version of Oscillith Matara. The last part discusses philosophically how Oscillith Matara relates to a larger fabric of composition methodologies that use sound to induce and reflect different psychological and emotional states.

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