Missing Pieces: Lost Sounds by So A Ryu

So A Ryu

process missing pieces: lost sounds form + function chrissi cowhey fall 2017

so a ryu

So A Ryu

lost sounds

Through the Missing Piece project, I created a set of packages that would allow me to hear some of my favorite sounds Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve lost over the years one last time. Amongst which are echos of scratches a pencil makes against paper on a wooden table, and sounds of my footsteps on wet sidewalks on a rainy day.

permanent bilateral hearing loss

So A Ryu

lost sounds

right ear | hearing within normal limits up to 750 Hz, sloping to a mild at 1000 Hz to moderately - severe sensorineural hearing loss left ear | hearing within normal limits up to 500 Hz, sloping to a mild at 750 - 1000 Hz to moderately - severe sensorineural hearing loss Having bi-lateral mid to severe hearing loss, I experience sound differently. I hear bits and pieces, but mostly I am â&#x20AC;&#x153;hearingâ&#x20AC;? through other senses. For me, sound is a combination of colors, motion, vibration, and memory. I can see sound in action, and experience the missing sense through collection of visuals. If the right combinations of visuals are presented before me, I make connections to the sound that would be present in the scenario. Only, most of the time I cannot hear it and I am vicariously hearing through the memories of sound.

I cannot hear f, s, th, k sounds, whispers, leaves bristling, and water dripping from facet as described in the chart above.

source | https://2ears2hear.kiwi.nz

So A Ryu

lost sounds

exploration Only recently I’ve recovered some sound with the help of hearing aids. For the first time in a while I heard toilet flushing, tommy the turtle’s tank filter running, and my very own footsteps - which is alarming at night when I didn’t recognize them at first. Even with the help of the aids, I know I will continue to gradually loose sound and my desire to hold on to these memories longer led me to the idea of memory box. This would allow me to hear or rather experience these sounds once more. I wanted the package to reflect the sound’s ephemeral quality, but it needed to be tangible and durable to hold the lost sounds.

So A Ryu

lost sounds

keywords opening memories russian dolls many-in-one peel away hidden cache lost / recovered meditative intimate harmony / melody nostalgia serendipity one time experience music box hierarchy complete set layered puzzle pieces trapping sound synesthesia

mood board for multi-step interactive packages. Many redefine space in accordance with the purpose of its content. 8

So A Ryu

lost sounds

music box

interaction of colors josef albers

Initially, when thinking about sound and package I immediately thought of the idea of music box. It is a nostalgic item that everyone around me had when I was young. Opening a music box was always magical, and I remember feeling a little sad whenever the music ended. Every music box has its own combination of metal reeds that produce a collective harmony. I still associate the distinctive hollow bell melody with it. I felt these elements can be incoporated

in my design to help communicate the the nostalgic, intimate qualities of the lost sounds. This exploration further led me to dive deeper in the qualities that made music box appealing to me. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always been fascinated by Henri Matisse and Josef Albersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; continual comparison between colors and sound, and our ability to constantly relate one sense to another. I relate particularly with Albersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; color theory and wanted to see if I could merge them with the qualities of music box.

Albers, in his interaction of colors, points out that the vibration of a set of colors is unique to each own. These packaged sounds are all varying degrees of quietness and without intimate exploration, hard to achieve. Each box contains sounds the way I hear it, from the vibration of the colors, to varying visual representations of each memories.

So A Ryu

lost sounds

Interaction of colors, pg. 5

I still remember encountering Albers’ studies of colors in the white neutral walls in MoMA. Each time I looked back at the four hues of purple osciliating in varying sizes of square, I could not decide exactly which purple or blue I was looking at. The energy from these colors intensified the more I studied each layer, and what seemed like a small smear of purple on the wall was suddenly screaming at me. That next weekend I went to see Agnes Martin’s exhibition In Her Own Words, and I was taken aback by the quiet invitation of her work that spoke volume. I feel as though my interaction with

sound developed over the years similar to the moments I have with Albers’ and Martin’s work. I am constantly amazed by the overwhelming emotion sounds gives me - one needs to listen in order to hear these. These pages give insights into how my four varying hues of yellow can give alternative experience of sound once that person learns to listen to the vibration of these colors, individually as well as collectively. My intention of using color and form was not to assimilate one sense to another, but to connect two worlds that is interchangeable for me. Interaction of colors top: p.34, bottom: p.40

So A Ryu

lost sounds

prototype

the box

ripping open

yellow

visual representation

2.5” water boiling

opening memories

j. albers

photo

ephemeral

warmth

stamp

sound of the rip

happiness

illustration

discovering the silence

warmer color > happier

handwriting

sequence

subtle differentiation

act I, II, III, final act

unique set of vibration

squence of literal to abstract

destruction

harmony

visual + color + silence

4”

leaves bristling

5.5”

7”

foot steps

pencil writing

sturdy but destructable entering into the space flap-over orgami

evokes memories

So A Ryu

lost sounds

my handwriting

So A Ryu

lost sounds

final type choice

lost sound Lost Sound

open here open last track 1, 2, 3, 4,

lost sound open here open last track 1 track 2 track 3

directions open the smallest box first

mrs eaves roman 7.5pt , 15pt

garamond 7pt, 14pt

lost sound Lost Sound

open here open last track 1

lost sound open here open last track 1 track 2 track 3

directions open the smallest box first

bembo 7pt, 13 pt

baskerville 7pt, 13 pt

So A Ryu

lost sounds

questions that came up All my sounds are quiet, and have subtle differences. How do i differentiate these? How can I show my most cherished sound versus sound that I miss but still can hear? Packages often shapes to its content, how can I make the form relevant when what I am containing is abstract/ephemeral? How can I reflect intimacy? How can I make sure the user to want to explore the package the way I want them to? 20

보글보글

사각사각

또각또각

쓰싹쓰싹

quiet splashes, whispering to each other

walking down a street and hearing the leaves bristle against each other

walking on asplat, wooden heels against wet ground

writing on thin piece of paper on a wooden table

So A Ryu

lost sounds

So A Ryu

lost sounds

So A Ryu

lost sounds

These packages are intended for one time only as sounds are often momentary. The perforated tags tears the sealed cover allowing me to enter a space in which descriptions of memories and visual representations fill in the silence. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the closest I have been able to let others experience the way I hear sound.

So A Ryu

lost sounds

final review

The whole class watched me open the package silently. It was an intense experience presenting, unraveling something so personal and I wondered what my peers were experiencing as I opened each box. I wondered what they heard as they encountered the absence of sound filled with colors and words. The tearing of the perforated tags was the only sound that filled the room. I announced each act and when I unraveled the package, I let the peers see whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inside. Now that I have presented this piece, I would like to watch someone else open it and see whether or not they would follow the same steps I took to unveil them. I wonder what else I could have done on the sides of the packages to further intensify the exploration before entering into the space.

for unraveling of the package visit: https://vimeo.com/233918603

lost sounds

The project < missing pieces > was made by So A Ryu for Form and Function: Design Research Methods in fall 2017 at Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts.