The Distance Between Us: Exploring the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit Through the Soundscape of Biometric Monitoring
Name
3678299.3678355.pdf
Size
24.46 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
82fe3db9968b0aa47f419bfb6295eef8
Author(s)
Lecamwasam, Kimaya
Date Issued
September 18, 2024
Publisher
ACM|Audio Mostly 2024 - Explorations in Sonic Cultures
Citation
Lecamwasam, Kimaya. 2024. "The Distance Between Us: Exploring the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit Through the Soundscape of Biometric Monitoring."
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Audio technology rested at the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic. Though heart rate monitors, ventilators, and pulse oximeters are not traditionally thought of as tools for musical expression, their sounds hold a resonance that has not been fully explored, given the spaces these biometric monitoring devices held in the zeitgeist. In my piece “The Distance Between Us”, I investigate the role of the sonic output of biometric measurement as a source of input data for artistic expression on its own. I present a score grounded in the auditory environment of a COVID-19 intensive care unit (ICU), with graphic notation inspired by the visual output of heart rate monitors and pulse oximeters, that directs the dynamics of the performers as they improvise using steady-state and alert tones of monitoring devices to explore the soundscape of the ICU. “The Distance Between Us” becomes a representation of the profound connection between soundscape, score, and the emotional and physical toll of the pandemic. I include analyses of performer and audience member reflections that suggest the importance of considering the contextual relationships that we build with auditory stimuli when composing and performing pieces grounded in emotionally-charged subject matter.
Description
AM '24: Proceedings of the 19th International Audio Mostly Conference: Explorations in Sonic Cultures, September 18–20 2024, Milan, Italy
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Media Laboratory
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1145/3678299.3678355
