Documentation of the Sonic Network no.9 installation by Australian painter John Aslanidis and Australian / British musician Brian May at White Box NYC.

The installation comprises of a large painting, Sonic Network No.9, constructed from four panels measuring 244 cm in height by 304 cm in length, and a generative sound piece, which is a response to the painting, running non-stop for the duration of the exhibition.

(Listening note: Frequencies in the sound piece reach down to 30Hz – best listening results achieved on a capable audio system or good headphones)

Documentation of an installation by Australian painter John Aslanidis and Australian / British musician Brian May.
The installation comprises of a large painting, Sonic Network No.9, constructed from four panels measuring 244 cm in height by 304 cm in length, and a generative sound piece, which is a response to the painting.
(Listening note: Frequencies in the sound piece reach down to 30Hz – best listening results achieved on a capable audio system or good headphones)

The installation ran from 04.04.2012 to 29.04.2012 at White Box Gallery, New York City, USA.
It previously ran from 07.10.2011 – 26.11.2011 at Dr Julius Gallery, Berlin, Germany.

In the sonic network paintings John Aslanidis uses a set of mathematical intervals, which are relative to a grid on each of the four canvases. The drawing he derives these intervals from is akin to a “musical score”, which Aslanidis has used in composing the sonic network series.
It is from these compositional points that Brian May has written an algorithm which determines the characteristics and timing of the tones in relation to the points as conceived in the sound piece. The (sine wave) tones created are audio representations of circular forms.
Brian May’s sound piece uses the programming language SuperCollider for sound synthesis to compose, produce and play the piece, which is playing in conjunction with the painting from a computer through a custom installed sound system for the duration of the exhibition.
The sound piece is generative and infinite, with no fixed start or end point in the composition. This correlates with the idea of infinity, a basic element of the sonic network series.
Consequently, the interaction between the sound piece, the painting and the observer is always different, as the painting perpetually shifts upon being viewed, which is mirrored by the sound piece.
The intention of the sound is to create an equivalent of the reverberating patterns and geometric shapes, resembling the patterns in the painting. In addition to this the composer has taken into consideration the structure and composition of the painting and responds to the moiré patterns – represented via audio interference of the sine waves – known as beat frequencies, in the sound piece.
Using SuperCollider, Brian May creates sounds which correspond to colours and forms emanating from the painting.
Order and chaos is present in both the sound piece and the painting, the resulting effect being one of synergy between analogue and digital mediums.