ON A BOUNDARY LINE

Physical vibration is like a wave. It is a continuous movement. Or, individual movements, transmitted one after another.Like a wave, an exterior noise will spread indoors.

Let us consider our living space. It contains various domain divisions. For example, exteriors and interiors of architecture:open space and a close passage. These divisions are necessary for our everyday life. Between two divisions there is a boundary. It is cultural and social, and has an important meaning for us, but does not constitute a barrier for te continuity of physical phenomena.

CONTEXT OF A SPACE

A living space has two main types of vibration: the vibration trough air and the vibration trough solids. Attending to te space around us, we notice an abundance of vibration - an airplane high up on the sky, noise of the city, subways, waterpipes, etc. I believe we can regard these vibrations as the "context" of constructed space. And from this, we can can increase our awareness of living space.

OBSERVATION AND OBJECT

Considered simply, there is an insulation between an observer and the observed. But that is not true. An object is aprhended in its interaction with an observer. They are stuck together. We observe the vibrations of our living space. Those vibrations sirround us, continuously.
The act of observation changes our perception of any given object, depending on te point from which we observe it. Objectt and observation form a dynamic relationship - a vibratory system. Here there is no insulation.

And our hearing?





1 A signboard, wind-blown (1997 2.23 Maguchi, Matsuwa, Miura city, Kanagawa pref.7 The small sign was in the beach. It was simple - a thin iron sheet attached to a wooden frame. The thin iron was rusted and breaking. Half of it had come away from the wooden frame, and waved in the wind. A contact microphone was set in the gap between wooden frame and iron sheet. Whenever the sign waved in the wind, it touched the contact microphone, transmitting, for a moment, the vibration travelling through the iron sheet (in order to eliminate unnecessary noise, this track has been equalized).

2 Cicada and window (1999 8.15 Nakazato, Minami-ku, Yokohama city, Kanagawa pref.] This was recorded in my room on an early midsummer's afternoon. The buzzing of Japan's many cicadas can be heard during the summer, and although the room's window was shut, when the wind blew, the window shook and a gap opened between the two window panes. In this way, the buzzing of the cicadas entered my room little by little (this track has cut low frequencies sharply. in order to better hear the cicadas).

Track 3: 40 oscillators – Hayasa installation (1994 10.10 Hayasa textile factory, Kiryu city, Gumma pref.] This is a documentary recording of a site-specific installation. The exhibition space was a factory, closed for over 20 years. About 40 hand-made electric oscillators were installed in the wall of the factory. For the installation, the oscillators were set to emit rectangle waves at 3.5kHz. The oscillators are very simple devices, and the pitch of the sound differs subtly between each unit (due to differences between the condition of the units, the type of parts installed, or the quality of the battery). The recording comprises two parts. For the first part, I recorded the exterior of the installation. For the second part. I walked around the inside of the installation with microphones placed close to my ears.

4 Pier (1998 11.25 Kaneda fishing port, Miura city7 Solid vibration of a little pier. During the recording, a person enjoyed fishing at a tip of it.

5 Road between warehouses (1994 12.10 Nagaura bay, Yokosuka city, Kanagawa pref. A pair of microphones were set in the road between two big warehouses. You can hear the mechanical sound of a cargo ship, echoing regularly. There was a person practicing a trumpet in the distance.

6 Deck of a wharf [Recording date unknown, Misaki bay, Miura city) Solid vibration of the concrete deck of a wharf. The operational announcements at a fishing port can be heard near the end of the track.

7 Ground near an external unit (1998 11.25 Kaneda fishing port, Miura citvi Solid vibration of the ground near an external unit. A fixed vibration persists throughout, and you can hear a very low frequency sound with changing amplitude, which is caused by the motion of the port's work vehicles several meters away.

8 Floor boards 2000 10. -exact date unknown- Nakazato Minami-ku. Yokohama city] Vibration of the floor boards of a two-story wooden house built 40 years ago. It was recorded at a rainy night. This track has two parts of equal length: the two sections were recorded about 0.1 meters apart from each other.

9 Heater and Amplifier (1995 12. -exact date unknown- Uragami-dai. Yokosuka city. Kanagawa pref, This recording is somewhat more special than the other tracks. To make the right channel, I attached a contact microphone to the control panel of a heater. For the left channel, I placed a contact microphone on top of an audio amplifier's exterior case. Operating the heater affects the amplifier by electro-magnetic interference - a low frequency electric wave relation.
This phenomenon cannot be simply described as an electrical occurance. We can hear the interference, although it is very quiet. But the sound will not be generated if there is a lot of space between the heater and amplifier. So, while we might describe this phenomenon as electro-magnetic interference, it is also a spatial incident.

10 Inside the warehouse (1994 12.12 Naqura bay] A pair of microphones were set near the center of a big warehouse, in the early afternoon. Work vehicles go in and out occasionally. Several pigeons live in the ceiling.

Track 11 is in two parts: the first part was recorded at the center of the installation; the second part was recorded while walking around the room, close to the objects.


Track 12 was made with a contact microphone placed on several of the objects. recording the solid vibration.

TTV installation (1994 3.24-25 Trans Trance Vision. Minami-aovama. Tokyo These are also documentary recordings of an installation. For the installation, I stuck ordinary objects (a chair, basket, cup, etc.) of various materials and forms on the wall in an art gallery. An large number of electro magnetic switches were attached to the objects, and set to execute on/off Operations in a high-speed cycle, causing the objects to vibrate.
The sound of the whole space was a little like white noise. A visitor could move close to the objects on the walls, and hear the sound of the materials vibration through the operation of the switches. This work deals with not only the vibrational "incidents, but also the spatial spread of lifestyle. As for the recording, it comprises three parts:

13 Scenery of a fishing port (1998 3.9 Akiya fishing port, Yokosuka city) This track records the space of the fishing port during the afternoon. The recording interests me, because of the many kinds of echos present but not intermingled: a very short echo of a wave breaking against a ship; the echo of construction in the long distance: the reflected voice of a child; the resonance of an airplane engine; etc.

14 Window frame and wind (1995 5.4 Uragami-dai, Yokosuka city. The contact microphone was set on the frame of a small window in a room. When the window shook in the wind, the exterior frame touched the interior frame. The vibration which has travelled from the outside frame was then picked up by the microphone (in order to eliminate unnecessary noise, this track has been equalized).