"Savant"

In the fall of 2009, I created a sound piece based on the numbers of pi. I assigned a color to each of the numerical digits (0-9), recorded myself reciting the name of each color, and assembled the sound bites into the appropriate sequence. The resulting six-minute recording consists of several-hundred digits-worth of information. The repetition of the words and the rhythm of their delivery shift the way the message is perceived. At first the words are descriptive - "pink, white, blue, white, green, brown..." - and then their meaning begins to break down. As the voice drones on, the words "orange, yellow, green, pink, green..." eventually dissolve into pure sound.

Several weeks after completing the sound piece, I had an opportunity to build a temporary site for its dispersal. With help, I constructed a room twelve feet wide and eighteen feet long. In the upper corner of the peripheral walls, and above the ceiling in the center of the space, speakers were mounted to deliver the sound. The colors of the sequence emanated from the left, right, or center speaker depending on whether the represented number was odd, even, or neither (zero). The six minute sound piece was run on a ten-minute loop, allowing for a four-minute period of rest between each cycle.

The interior of the room was painted purple - the only basic color not included in the sound recording - and upon the exterior walls, a circular pattern hinted at the origin of the sequence.