S t u d i o F i v e B e e k m a n

sound and intermedia gallery

David First & Patricia Smith

Soma's Vertebral Disguise

a sound and light repository

Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays

2 - 6 PM

January 9 - 25, 1997

Live Theremin Interactions by David First

January 11 & 25, 1997

3 -6 PM

The aural foundation of Soma's Vertebral Disguise is a computer controlled tone spiral of twenty-one mathematically derived relationships that form a macroscopic model of vibratory activity found through seven dimensions of the natural phenomenal world. Phase cycling relative to their pitch frequency, the entire set takes exactly 720 hours (30 days) to complete one grand cycle. Throughout this time, pitch bend commands continuously subvert and release the precise relationships as a pebble disturbs the glassy pond.

In the sound immersion chamber, seven small tables hold a collection of documents, sketches, narrative scraps, and related objects which trace the conceptual journey of a decidedly "right brained" persona who has attempted to visualize and clarify the symbolic implications of the tone spiral's mathematical structure. This journey splits into many rambling and contradictory paths, veering from the mystical to the sardonic. Armed with an explanatory statement of the sound work and a numerical chart, each guest is invited to improvise his/her own explanation, guided by the sound itself.

"Gradual drone-bender First and his visual-narrative collaborator are livening up the season's dead spot with Soma's Vertebral Disguise, an ongoing installation described as a "sound and light repository". Expect a shimmering construction of interlocking overtone series from First's mathematical alter ego, Pythagoras Jr."

Kyle Gann, Village Voice