CUTIS SONAT
(2020-2023)
Cutis Sonat is an intermedia research project that parts from questioning about the stereotypes and sociocultural values that have been created historically based on skin color. The proposal covers three sound approaches that use variations of the human complexion to speculate on the relevance that skin color has had in the way humans relate to each other. Cutis Sonat is an art experiment in synesthesia, a poetic exploration of identity, and a testament to the hidden harmonies that reside within the spectrum of human existence. It encourages us to listen with our eyes and see with our ears, revealing the profound and often overlooked connections that bind us together.
- Cutis Sonat (V 0.1)
Sound installation / bio-action. Following the proposed line of research, this work seeks to address the racial/sociocultural differences around the human complexion with a piece that dialogues with this problem through a sound discourse.
The piece is made up of a collection of human skin desquamation canvases that cover a tonal spectrum that goes from dark to light complexion. Its colorimetry is based on the compilation of images of skin tones that have been taken throughout the process. The color data of each skin tone is used to generate the specific sound frequency of each canvas, which is reproduced by means of a sound device. The canvases are mounted in acrylic containers together with their respective speaker to create sound objects that, through their multiplicity of voices, interpret the translated harmonic counterpoints of the different hues of the skins. The result is a bio-sound space that integrates and puts into dialogue the different skin tones and their sound representation, speculating with the idea that we are all part of this great sample book of color and that far from colliding with each other, are complementary, both physically (skin) and intrinsically at the core (sound). The piece reflects on this in a poetic way, a collection of objects that integrates a wide range of skin tones and their sounds, forming an inter-weaved harmonious discourse without disrupting the individuality of its parts. The composition is based on the color data of each skin tissue sample. The RGB formula of each skin color tone is translated using a Max/MSP patch, and an algorithm. Once the tonal range of each part was outlined, we worked on the composition using the color data to feed the piano parts to generate a harmonic offset that allows a sonic counterpoint between all the sound boxes.
- Stereo mix of the 8 channel composition
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- Cutis Sonat (V 0.3)
This piece presents a series of four transmedial modules comprised of a photographic portrait and a magnetic tape sound box. Each photograph represents a human skin tone, while each magnetic tape reproduces a the sound piece composed using the tonal information of each subject's skin color. CS V0.3 transcends the visual, inviting us to not only see the nuanced tapestry of human complexion but to hear its silent sounds. At its heart lies an exploration of the self, rendered through the tangible presence of four distinct human skin tones and their sonic counterparts.
The photographic elements are intimate studies of skin as landscape, each of them, bearing a unique shade of human color, reveals the subtle variations in pigment, texture, and light. The whirring of their mechanisms and the slight imperfections inherent in magnetic tape playback lend a certain warmth and vulnerability to the sonic output. Each box is inextricably linked to one of the photographed skin tones, acting as a vessel for its unique auditory translation.
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- Cutis Sonat (V 0.4)
CS V0.4 is a composition for string quintet based on a skin tone spectrum that dictates each part's tonal range. The piece, which is 30 minutes long, explores the harmonic possibilities of the specific tonalities from each of the assigned colors, creating counterpoints between the different instruments of the ensemble.
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- Cutis Sonat (V 0.5)
HUMAN SKIN MACROS
B I T A C O R A
Skin Color DATA Sonification