Ephemerospheres is an installation of electroacoustic audio works for wave field synthesis speaker array. The system’s creator, Mike Bullock, is a composer and intermedia artist whose work centers on listening to the unique qualities of particular spaces, both while recording natural environments and while creating virtual ones with loudspeakers.
Bullock designed and built his wave field synthesis (WFS) speaker array as part of Ears In Space, an umbrella project that includes his work in spatial audio technology as well as environmental recording. He considers Ears In Space complementary to his artistic practice, operating in the overlap between his art and collaborations with other artists and researchers.
Wave field synthesis places virtual sound sources in real space with a high degree of precision, using dozens of small speakers in a linear array. A computer coordinates the firing of the loudspeakers to generate coherent wave fields in a two-dimensional space in front of the array. Unlike the much larger WFS arrays at arts institutions like EMPAC – where Bullock first worked with this technology – the Ears In Space WFS array is designed for intimate spaces, smaller galleries, and homes. The system is portable and modular, allowing for expansion and experimentation.
About the works in Ephemerospheres
Combining Bullock’s own compositions with those of a guest composers Seth Cluett and Linda Gale Aubry, Ephemerospheres will create a shifting audio ecology that adapts itself to the room and its occupants in the welcoming quiet of Nolan Park. Among the pieces in Ephemerospheres will be “Ultrasonisphere” (2020), the first piece conceived for the Ears In Space wave field synthesis array. It is composed primarily of the ultrasonic sounds used by bats for hunting and communication, along with other environmental and synthesized sounds.
August 28th – October 31st, 2021
Title(s) of works and durations
Mike Bullock: “Ultrasonisphere” 17:40 min., “Various Divergences 2.2: Drehorgelmann” 4:05 min. . “Vernalities” 13:36 min. and “Hydrophonosphere” 7:16
“Azure Ticket” by Linda Gale Aubry. 8:21
“Falling through the map” by Seth Cluett. 9:26
BIOS
Mike Bullock is an electroacoustic composer and environmental sound recordist. Based in Western Massachusetts, he has been creating electroacoustic and improvised music since the mid-90s. He has presented work at Experimental Intermedia, ISSUE Project Room, and 5th Avenue Armory in New York City; Fylkingen in Stockholm, Sweden; Instants Chavirés in Paris; Café OTO in London; The Philadelphia Museum of Art; Wave Farm in Acra, NY; and EMPAC in Troy, NY. Bullock has received grants from the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.
Bullock is the founder of Ears In Space, a studio for nature sound recording, spatial audio, and listening practice. He is an Ambassador for the Kingdoms of Elgaland-Vargaland.
Seth Cluett is a composer, visual artist, and writer. With work ranging from photography and drawing to installation, performance, and critical writing, his “subtle…seductive, immersive” (Artforum) sound work has been characterized as “rigorously focused and full of detail” (e/i) and “dramatic, powerful, and at one with nature” (The Wire). The recipient of grants from Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Fund and Meet the Composer, his work has been presented internationally at venues such as The Whitney Museum, MoMA/PS1, Moving Image Art Fair, CONTEXT Art Miami, GRM, and STEIM. Cluett is a Lecturer in Music (Computer Music and Sound Studies), the Assistant Director of the Computer Music Center and Sound Art Program at Columbia University, and is Artist-in-Residence with Experiments in Art and Technology at Nokia Bell Labs.
For more about his work and research: http://sethcluett.com/
Linda Gale Aubry is an artist and musician working across many media, Linda Gale Aubry’s creative methods encompass sculpture, painting, design, animation, porcelain, and music composition. Aubry creates works that support the experience of serenity and self-reflection, incorporating ornamental and decorative techniques.
Their music encompasses an improvisational approach with the intersection of electronics, the natural world, and explorations of repetition and stillness. Their work has been supported by the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, and has been presented at Wave Farm in Acra, NY; Fylkingen in Stockholm, Sweden; and Vox Populi Gallery in Philadelphia, PA. Linda Gale Aubry is Ambassador of Ornamentation for the The Kingdoms of Elgaland Vargaland (KREV).
“I have always witnessed [Bullock’s] restlessly energetic explorations with amazement… At this point, I never know what to expect from Mike’s records, except that they won’t sound like the previous one. [Mild Disappearances CD] is no exception. Think of the gravity-free improvisations of Keith Rowe, the inner-space depression meditations of Maurizio Bianchi, or perhaps… ah, forget it. It only sounds like Mike Bullock after all.” – Howard Stelzer, composer
“Listened to your LP Figures Without Ground – actually listened to it a few time recently – I just wish it would go on and on and on.” -Gen Ken Montgomery, artist
Praise for Listen to Winter, collaborative album by Hello@ (Bullock/Aubry):
”Listen to Winter is lovely, peaceful and a lovely mix of crunching snow, bells from France, bass and much more….what a treat….” – Annea Lockwood, composer,
Interviews and Press
Howard Stelzer writes about my electroacoustic music CD “Mild Disappearances”:
https://intransitive.bandcamp.com/album/mild-disappearances
Interview with Dee Cunning for Catalyst Berlin:
https://catalyst-berlin.com/stories/guest-session-mike-bullock
Interview with Jason Heath of Contrabass Conversations:
Web and social media links
http://mikebullock.com/ https://mikebullock.bandcamp.com/ http://earsin.space/ https://www.instagram.com/ears__in__space/ https://twitter.com/ears_in_space https://www.facebook.com/mikebullockmusic