The Lis ening Can as
LUCIANA PERC, Uni e si y o Po smou h, UK
Addi ional Key Wo ds and Ph ases: ac ili y, ound objec s, in e ac i e sound, o ganic-syn he ic ma e
ACM Re e ence Fo ma :
1 PROGRAM NOTES
The Lis ening Can as is an in e ac i e sound ins alla ion ha in i es audiences o disco e he sounds o ound objec s
by way o engaging in ac ile in e ac ions wi h o ganic (g ains, lea es, s ems) and syn he ic (plas ics, ca dboa d, ab ic)
ma e wi hin an open can as. By explo ing he sounds c ea ed wi h bo h ege al and syn he ic ma e , audiences
a e called o pa icipa e in econ igu ing ou unde s anding o and connec ions wi h he wo ld ha su ounds us
challenging bina y concep ions o na u e and cul u e owa ds a new sound ecology.
Fig. 1. P e ious ins alla ion wo k: B è e An i-his oi e des Sons T ou és
2 PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The Lis ening Can as is an in e ac i e sound ins alla ion ha in i es audiences o disco e he sounds o ound objec s
by way o engaging in ac ile in e ac ions wi h o ganic (g ains, lea es, s ems) and syn he ic (plas ics, ca dboa d, ab ic)
ma e wi hin an open can as.
This sound ins alla ion displays a can as made o mul iple syn he ic ma e ials su ounded by hanging ound objec s.
Audiences a e in i ed o p oduce sounds by ouching he su ace o he can as wi h hei hands o wi h lea es and
o he ege al ma e ials p o ided. This ac ile in e ac ion is cap u ed by con ac mic ophones placed on he e so o he
can as. The sounds a e modi ied and di used in eal ime h ough wo ansduce s a ached o hanging ound objec s
used as esona o s, such as a ying pan and a wa e ing can. The ins alla ion enables a wo-sided expe ience in which
lis ening and sound-making a e equally encou aged.
The aim o his a wo k is o engage wide audiences, including adul s and child en, in expe imen al sound-making
and ac i e lis ening p ac ices. They would be o e ed he oppo uni y o ac i ely pa icipa e by way o ouching a
Licensed unde a C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 In e na ional License (CC BY 4.0). Copy igh emains wi h he au ho (s).
Luciana Pe c. 2024. The Lis ening Can as. 1, 1 (Sep embe 2024), 3 pages.
Music P oceedings o he In e na ional Con e ence on New In e aces o Musical Exp ession
NIME’24, 4–6 Sep embe , 2024, U ech , The Ne he lands
2 Luciana Pe c
objec s in display, which is adi ionally o bidden in exhibi ion spaces. The o ganic and syn he ic ma e used o
p oduce sounds wi hin he can as’ su ace is explo ed sonically in a way ha os e s di e en modes o lis ening,
dis up ing he way in which meaning is ypically cons uc ed a ound na u e and cul u e o explo e an eco eminis
con igu a ion. The wo k emb aces a ound objec app oach owa ds he disco e y o and he in e ac ion wi h ound
sounds. This can also be desc ibed as a o m o conc e e music in eal ime, as he audience can isually iden i y he
sound sou ces o he elec oacous ic sounds hey a e lis ening o and can use hose sound sou ces o c ea e sonic
landscapes hemsel es. The aim is o enable a pa icipa o y c ea i e expe ience in a meaning ul sense, explo ing he
ins alla ion as a un and engaging de ice, a so o su ealis hea ing a e ac used o p oduce sound wi h one end and
o lis en wi h he o he .
This wo k d aws connec ions wi h Leono a Ca ing on’s su ealis no el The Hea ing T umpe as well as wi h
Donna Ha away’s new ma e ialis philosophy. In Ca ing on’s no el, an elde ly woman is gi en a hea ing umpe o
be able o communica e wi h hose a ound he , which is p esen ed as an ini ia ion de ice wi hin a su ealis ound
objec app oach, while lis ening is p esen ed as a ans o ma i e ac ion. Upon being able o lis en o, ga he and plo
wi h o he s, elde ly people commonly unde es ima ed in ou socie y achie e an eco eminis u opian ecology ha
en ails new ai e o ms o coexis ence among humans and o he species [
1
]. By explo ing he sounds c ea ed wi h bo h
ege al and syn he ic ma e , audiences a e in i ed o pa icipa e in econ igu ing ou unde s anding o and connec ions
wi h he wo ld ha su ounds us challenging bina y concep ions o na u e and cul u e owa ds a new sound ecology.
This philosophical exe cise also ela es o Ha away’s concep o companion species, a new ma e ialis amewo k o
unde s anding ela ionships o co-cons i u ion be ween human and non-human animals [2].
This in e ac i e sound ins alla ion explo es sound display hough ansduce s placed on esona ing ound objec s
and hus engages wi h Da id Tudo s’s sound ins alla ion Rain o es IV [
3
], which in oduced his echnique c ea ing
sculp u al speake s. This pa adigma ic sound a piece has been a ac ing audiences’ cu iosi y and play ulness h ough-
ou decades and i s i le sugges s an agen ial explo a ion o s a ic objec s na iga ing hei sonic p ope ies ac oss he
exhibi ion space as i hey we e he speci ic lo a o an imagina y, su ealis ain o es .
3 SPACE REQUIREMENTS
This wo k would bene i om a quie space o be able o ully app ecia e he sub le nuances o he sounds p oduced on
he can as. A quie space would also be mo e in i ing o audiences o engage in sonic and ac ile in e ac ions. This
may be in a galle y space o wi hin he uni e si y.
This ins alla ion could c ea e connec ions be ween adjacen ooms o spaces wi hin he exhibi ion, placing he
can as (cap u ing sound) a a dis ance om he esona ing ound objec s (ampli ying ansduce s) o enable sonic
communica ion be ween dis an isi o s explo ing he exhibi ion. This would encou age audiences o walk h ough
di e en loca ions o ei he only lis en o he sounds made by o he s o pa icipa e in c ea ing sounds.
4 MEDIA LINKS
•Video Reco ding o p e ious wo k explo ing o ganic and syn he ic ma e : h ps://you u.be/MniGxbFSxHQ
5 LOGISTICAL REQUIREMENTS
The can as needs o be hanged on he wall, o which hamme and nails a e equi ed as well as o hanging he
esona ing ound objec s. A able o baske s will be needed o place he ege able ma e ials o he audience o make
sound wi h. These ma e ials will be sou ced locally.
The Lis ening Can as 3
Fig. 2. The Lis ening Can as – Visual Re e ence
6 FEASIBILITY
I c ea ed and exhibi ed my in e ac i e sound ins alla ion B è e An i-his oi e des Sons T ou és a Ci é des A s Pa is,
which con ained ce ain elemen s o his ins alla ion and hus se es as isual documen a ion o p e ious wo k in his
p oposal. I ha e also explo ed making sound wi h ege al and mine al ma e in my wo k Landslide (2023) o Line
Upon Line pe cussion. This chambe piece explo es sound-making ges u es pe o med wi h ege al and mine al ma e
on adi ional pe cussion ins umen s. Engaging wi h eco eminis no ions o hope, his wo k poe ically explo es he
dynamics o human displacemen in he con ex o he An h opocene. Th ough embodied ges u es and li e elec onics
p ocesses, he sonic ex u es o ege al and mine al elemen s a e combined wi h he imb e o di e en d ums o c ea e
new sounds, in e oga ing he bounda ies be ween human and na u e, as well as be ween ma e and meaning. The
ideo eco ding o his wo k is included abo e as audio- isual documen a ion o p e ious wo k.
7 EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS
The equipmen needed o his ins alla ion consis s o : Piezo con ac mic ophones, an audio in e ace, wo ansduce s
wi h a class D ampli ie , esona ing ound objec s, a can as ame, a can as su ace made o plas ic, ab ic, and ca dboa d,
and ege al elemen s sou ced locally. To engage wi h ecological sus ainabili y, I challenged mysel o c ea e his
ins alla ion en i ely wi h esou ces ha we e ei he ound o gi ed o me.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The au ho would like o hank Ci é des A s Pa is o hos ing he exhibi ion o he ins alla ion B è e An i-his oi e des
Sons T ou és, which con ained ce ain elemen s o his p oposal and hus se es as isual documen a ion o p e ious
wo k.
ETHICAL STANDARDS
Fo conduc ing his piece o p ac ice-based esea ch, p inciples o e hical and p o essional conduc will be ollowed
in acco dance wi h he Uni e si y o Po smou h’s E hics S anda ds, P o ocols, and P ocesses. I he exhibi ion o
he p oposed ins alla ion was o be eco ded o p omo ional, documen ing and esea ch pu poses, audiences will be
in o med in w i ing so ha hei pa icipa ion is consensual.
REFERENCES
[1] Leono a Ca ing on. 1976. The Hea ing T umpe . Penguin Books, London, UK.
[2] Donna Ha away. 2016. Mani es ly Ha away. Uni e si y o Minneso a P ess, Minneapolis, MN.
[3] Da id Tudo . 1973. Rain o es IV. Uni e si y o Minneso a P ess, New Hampshi e, US.
