Jordan Rickman

An audio installation that allows you to feel another person's heartbeat not with your ears, but through your body.

Description

Developed as an exploration of how sound moves through and interacts with the body, “Pulse Resonance” is an installation that allows you to feel another person's heartbeat not with your ears, but through your body. It involves two people: the “performer” and the “listener.” The listener lies down on their back on a low platform. A stethoscope and microphone pick up the performer's heartbeat – or other bodily sounds – and sends them to a surface transducer under the platform. In this way, the performer's heart is not heard through the listener's ears, but rather felt through their body.

Although I originally designed the piece as a performance with my own heartbeat, audience members also enjoyed taking on the role of performer, using the stethoscope on themselves and letting their friends feel their heartbeat. Thus, during the show I will take on the role of the performer at most times, but will also allow visitors to “perform” if they desire to. Thus, the project acts as both a performance and as an interactive installation.

Classes

Sound in Space