Akusmata

vib || sub
sound installation by Jari Kauppinen

17.4. – 24.4.2015
Opening hours: Mon – Fri 14 – 18

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vib || sub is a sound installation that will be exhibited in Galleria Akusmata 17. – 24. April. It consists of three pieces, ”Touchthesound”, ”The Fountain of Perennial Harmony” and ”Eighteen Ninetyeight”. Each of them has a different perspective on subsonic vibration. They also differ from each other in their technical complexity and design strategies. What these pieces have in common is the fact that they operate in the act of the encounter, the effect they impose on the spectator is not easily transferable or mediatable. They have to be experienced in situ. Their haptic and corporeal elements operate on touch or near proximity; in the space, place and situation these pieces occupy, speaking mainly to the body, working within the affective domain, alongside the cognitive processes.

Jari “Suopo” Kauppinen is a sound artist and sound designer. He had his first solo sound exhibition ”The Phantasmagoria of Sound Physiology” in 1997. He has worked extensively with sound and music as an independent sound artist, composer and musician creating a multitude of works in the fields of sound art, music, radiophonic works, site-specific sound art, sound installations, performances, electronic instruments and so on. He has also been taking part in the work of numerous production groups, theatre and dance companies by designing and realizing soundworlds to dozens of theatre and dance productions, performances, installations, exhibitions and spaces. Currently he is a lecturer of sound design in the University of the Arts Helsinki.

During this season Akusmata has prepared new projects. Akusmata will open the Mutanoid website soon for the electronic instruments and Akusmata Concert Serie will start in November.

Akusmata has a new 4-channel PA-system (4x 1220 W) for live concerts. The main speakers are Electro-Voice ZX5-90 (pair) and the three surround speakers are D.A.S. M.I. 12. We have three mixers (Soundcraft Delta, Behringer 1204 FX and Fonic), Drawmer DL241 dual-channel ‘auto compressor’, Digitech 4-channel FX processor, guitar amplifiers and various microphones, like Rode NT5 (matched pair), Neumann K 84 (pair), 5x Sennheiser, OKM Soundman (binaural), AT and other stuff.

More information on the upcoming activities will be published soon here…

Akusmata Mobile presents:

MAGNETISM
sound installation by Petri Kuljuntausta

at MEDIA ART UP! Exhibition
Puristamo & Valssaamo, Kaapelitehdas Helsinki

18.9. – 28.9.2014
Opening hours: Mon – Fri 12-18, Sat – Sun 12 – 16

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Magnetism is a class of physical phenomenon that includes forces exerted by magnets on other magnets. It has its origin in electric currents and the fundamental magnetic moments of elementary particles. These give rise to a magnetic field that acts on other currents and moments. All materials are influenced to some extent by a magnetic field. The strongest effect is on permanent magnets, which have persistent magnetic moments caused by ferromagnetism.

In order to translate an electrical signal into an audible sound, speakers contain an electromagnet: a metal coil which creates a magnetic field when an electric current flows through it. This coil behaves much like a normal (permanent) magnet, with one particularly handy property: reversing the direction of the current in the coil flips the poles of the magnet.

Inside a speaker, an electromagnet is placed in front of a permanent magnet. The permanent magnet is fixed firmly into position whereas the electromagnet is mobile. As pulses of electricity pass through the coil of the electromagnet, the direction of its magnetic field is rapidly changed. This means that it is in turn attracted to and repelled from the permanent magnet, vibrating back and forth due to Faraday’s law of induction.
The electromagnet is attached to a cone made of a flexible material such as paper or plastic which amplifies these vibrations, pumping sound waves into the surrounding air and towards the ears. [physics-org, wikipedia]

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Media Art Up! exhibition contains also works by Andy Best & Merja Puustinen / Biotaiteen seura / Delicode oy / FIXC cooperative / Veli Granö / Kallio Kunsthalle / Kokeellisen elektroniikan seura / Albert Laine / Kristina Laine / m-cult / Marjatta Oja / Annika Rauhala / Markus Renvall / Seppo Renvall / Maija Saksman / Milja Viita / Äänen Lumo ry

Kaapelitehdas

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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF URBAN BROADBAND NOISES
six-channel sound installation
22.8. – 30.8.2013

The installation is part of the Night of the Arts (Taiteiden yö) / Helsinki Festival programme

en·cy·clo·pe·dia
\in-ˌsī-klə-ˈpē-dē-ə\
noun
a work that contains information on all branches of knowledge or treats comprehensively a particular branch of knowledge usually in articles arranged alphabetically often by subject
(New Oxford American Dictionary)

Noise is bad. Urban noise is even worse. But is it possible that amidst the unwanted and irritating might be something beautiful and soothing? The aim of EOUBBN is to examine the aesthetic qualities of various readily encountered urban broadband noises recorded in Helsinki metropolitan area. It is striving to get beyond the usual good/bad, pastoral/urban, natural/artificial juxtapositions and present the captured noises in their most engaging form. The sounds come and go, like clouds, one after another, taking the installation space into their possession.

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Jari “Suopo” Kauppinen is a sound artist and sound designer. He had his first solo sound exhibition ”The Phantasmagoria of Sound Physiology” in 1997. He has worked extensively with sound and music as an independent sound artist, composer and musician creating a multitude of works in the fields of sound art, music, radiophonic works, site-specific sound art, sound installations, performances, electronic instruments and so on. He has also been taking part in the work of numerous production groups, theatre and dance companies by designing and realizing soundworlds to dozens of theatre and dance productions, performances, installations, exhibitions and spaces. Currently he is a lecturer of sound design in the University of the Arts Helsinki.

MANIPULATED
3.5. – 30.5.2013

Noise pollution is a global environmental problem. It causes severe mental and physical illnesses to people, and it can be fatal to the ecosystems all over the world. The long-term effects of being exposed to noise are unpredictable. It alters the special behaviour of animals, and  it may even lead to extinction of many species. The constant background noise in urban areas is inescapable, and it was impossible for me to cope with. Therefore, I adapted a new approach towards the urban soundscape. I started listening to it, as if it was an uncontrolled composition, with a music-like structure.

Manipulated (Sounds For Headphones) is a collection of soundscapes based on field recordings. I focus on the constant background noise in urban areas. I record man-made sounds – the electric buzz and hum, the industrial beats of the machines and vehicles – sounds, that are easily ignored because of their banal or irritating nature. I de-constructed the field recordings into fragments, and explored them, in order to re-shape them into a new form. They transformed into soundscapes of a parallel reality. Manipulated (Sounds For Headphones) is a suggestion on how to perceive the urban noise in a different way. Re-Manipulated is a sound installation created especially to be played in a gallery.

The exhibition has been supported by Paulo Foundation and
Arts Promotion Centre Finland.
The Soundscape collection will be available on CD in 2013. It will be published as a limited edition of 100 copies; each CD comes with an unique cover sheet.

Olga Palomäki (*1980) is a visual artist based in Helsinki, Finland. Combining several different mediums, her work often deals with social issues and taboos, such as the concepts of alienation, otherness, loneliness, and death. Palomäki has had many solo exhibitions around Finland. She has participated in various group exhibitions, and film- and video festivals and screenings in Finland and some other European countries.

www.olgapalomaki.net
www.soundcloud.com/olgapalomaki

7K

Group Exhibition
4.4.–26.4.2013

7K is a proposition on what sound could be in a gallery context, made by seven artists. The exhibition asks what kind of ways of representation sound art has and what sound could tell us about space and place. As a result to these processes the exhibition introduces seven works to the public.

The thematic basis for these seven works is the actual exhibition space, Sound Art Gallery Akusmata, as a space, place and time. The works take different approaches in dealing with the characteristics of Akusmata as a physical, historical and social space. The exhibition explores sound as art and as a medium for information and also deals with the relationship between the exhibition and the one experiencing it.

The artists of 7K:

Ina Aaltojärvi

Ilpo Heikkinen

Markus Heino

Viljami Lehtonen

Joonas Outakoski

Aki Päivärinne

Johannes Vartola

The artists of this exhibition are MA-students majoring in Sound Design in the Theatre Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki.

A (2013)
Sound installation

25.2.-28.3.2013

A (2013) is a new collaboration between visual artist Sami van Ingen and sound artist Petri Kuljuntausta. In A, a deep sound frequency moves water on the mirror, until the water represents the sound in a geometrical form. Laser beams hits the mirror surface and the soundified water modulates the reflection of the beams. Modulated laser beams creates moving images of the sound frequency on the walls of the gallery.

Sami van Ingen makes experimental films and installations based on the moving image. One of the main characteristics of his work is an examination of the cinematic apparatus itself and the boundaries within it. His works have been screened in many national and international festivals and venues over the years. Collaborators include filmmakers Philip Hoffman and Bruce Baillie, as well as composer Petri Kuljuntausta.

Petri Kuljuntausta is a sonic artist, composer, musician and researcher. In close collaboration with natural scientists, he has composed an underwater music and made music out of whale calls and the sounds of the northern lights. Environmental sounds, live-electronics, improvisation and collaborations with media artists have influenced him as a composer. He received the Finnish State Prize for Art in 2005.

Äänitaiteen galleria Akusmatan yhteyteen avattava Mutanoid Custom Shop on hanke jossa luodaan julkaisu- ja jakelukanava kannettaville patterikäyttöisille ääni-instrumenteille. Mutanoid Custom Shop kokoaa soitinrakentajat yhteen ja MCS-sivuston kautta rakentajat löytävät soittimilleen ostajia koti- ja ulkomailta. Maassamme on tehty kuluneen vuosikymmenen aikana kymmeniä hienoja äänikojeita, jotka ovat taideteoksia jo sinänsä. Mutta usein soitinhankkeet ovat jääneet keskeneräisiksi. Rakentaja on tehnyt soittimen kokeilumielessä ja prototyypiksi omaan käyttöönsä ja se on esimerkiksi vailla koteloa. Julkaisu Mutanoid-sarjassa tarjoaa rakentajille syyn viedä kehitteillä olevan idean ja keskeneräisen laitteen suunnittelu loppuun asti.

Soitinrakentajat voivat lähettää ehdotuksiaan Mutanoid Custom Shop -tuotesarjaan. Pääsy julkaisusarjaan edellyttää että soitin on soinniltaan kiinnostava, se on varmatoiminen ja se on suunniteltu loppuun asti aina ulkokuorta (koteloa) myöten. Kun laite hyväksytään tuotesarjaan, rakentaja sitoutuu toimittamaan äänilaitetta myyntiin yhden tai muutaman kappaleen sarjan. Soittimella on tuotenimi, siitä otetaan valokuvia, videoclippi ja ääninäytteitä laitteelle avattavaa omaa nettisivua varten. MSC-sarjan soittimet ovat nähtävillä ja kokeiltavissa Akusmatassa ja soittimia myydään gallerian ja netin kautta.

Mutanoid Custom Shop -hanketta on kehitetty Akusmatassa loppuvuodesta 2012 lähtien. Hanketta tukee AVEK. MCS-nettisivut aukeavat kevään 2014 aikana.

AKUSMATA presentation at Resonanssi!

On Saturday October 6th 2012, a selection of Akusmata artists will be presented at Resonanssi event. The event will be held at Arthouse Cinema Niagara, Tampere. Professionals and students of film sound and music will meet each other in this third annual seminar. This year’s theme is ”Active sound”.

Akusmata program:

1. Dennis Tan: Harmonize (2012)
2. Kacper Ziemianin: Around the clock (2012)
3. Charlie  Morrow: Sound Glass Space (2012)
4. Janne Särkelä:  Ambient² (2012)
5. Petri Kuljuntausta: Black Groove (2012), video: Random Doctors & Klaustrofobia

All works in this concert were originally presented at Sound Art Gallery Akusmata. Many of these works are originally multichannel installations, so for this concert the artists reworked their piece and composed a special version of the work. Sound Art Gallery Akusmata is a gallery for Sound Art, Sound Installations, and sound-based Media Art and Video Art. The gallery also presents radiophonic, acousmatic and soundscape compositions. Akusmata opened its doors in February 2012 in Helsinki, Finland.

Dennis Tan
HARMONIZE

The works in the exhibition Sound Kinesis, deals mainly with the kinetic properties of sound. Low frequency sounds, not audible to the human ear, are used to visualize the characteristics of the modified loudspeakers. In this piece Harmonize, these sounds are remixed where ghostly frequencies appears out from the inaudible.

Kacper Ziemianin
AROUND THE CLOCK

In our everyday life and routines we don’t notice the ordinary sounds around us. Whether we are in the city or in the park there is always an acoustic space around us, but most of the time we filter this out from our consciousness. However if we record these sounds and put them outside of their everyday context we can listen to them in a new, acousmatic, way and they might take us to other places, times and memories.
All the environmental sounds used in this work were recorded during Kacper Ziemianin’s stay in Helsinki and Espoo in early August 2012. These sounds represent different moods and time of day and night in the Helsinki metropolitan area.
For this concert Kacper Ziemianin made a new version on the work. The stereo mix is realized from multichannel sound installation. The central point of the installation is a clock. Visitors at Akusmata Sound Art Gallery can bring to life and explore sounds from various times of the day by moving their hands around the clock. This way they create their own journey through the time and soundscapes.

Charlie  Morrow
SOUND GLASS SPACE

Four glass works by Harri Koskinen are sonified by custom sonic activators in a MorrowSound True3d spatial environment created with eight Koskinen-designed Genelec loudspeakers and subwoofer.
Morrow’s sound is heard in the True3D sound space and close-up through the glass objects.  The soundscape is four seasons of Finland in natural sound winter spring summer and eternal autumn.
The project is the first in a series of collaborations growing from Morrow’s sharing of Koskinen’s Helsinki atelier. The stereo remix is 3 minutes 50 sec.

Janne Särkelä
AMBIENT²

In AMBIENT² the sound landscape of Harakka island (Helsinki) is turned into music – into another language through a computer-abled generative process. We are born into a sound landscape, which we learn to be the familiar foundation compared to which everything is strange and peculiar. The question is about interpretation. When the soundscape is repeated as music something weird and unexpected is revealed.
Music created by the AMBIENT² does not conform with any existing tuning system. It re-creates the frequencies of the source material with synthetic instruments as a spectral music application. The composer is the observed space and the resulting piece never quite exactly repeats itself. The music thus created is not aleatory but determined by its own rules.
The form of the music is defined by ambient aesthetics, and in this case ambient sound creates the ambient music and the borders of music and the world are seamlessly intertwined.

Petri Kuljuntausta
BLACK GROOVE

Few years ago I found from flea market two old Siemens sound test records from the 1930s.  In Black Groove these records are used as the basic sound source. At first the records were digitalized at the Sound Restoration unit of Finnish National Library. This was necessary as you can’t play this old gramophone records with modern record players. At the Finnish National Library they did a special job to me: at first, they digitalized the records, and next I wanted them to remove all information out from the records. What was left was clicks and pops, surface noises, noise of dirt, mechanical noises and electrical noises of the records and record player.  These sounds were distributed over the multichannel loudspeaker system in the Akusmata gallery space. Thus the visitors could move in the “space of groove” and spatially mix these vinyl noises together.
The video of the Black Groove is sound reactive and it follows the groove noises in real-time. When there is no sound, the line is straight, but it becomes active immediately when the noises appear. In the gallery we used five invisible curtains that were hanging in the space. These multiplied the line five times and visitors saw the lines in the air. Thus the 3D space was created with digital and analogical means. The video showed in this concert is edited version of the gallery work.