Forces trembling underneath: the Lisbon earthquake and the sublime

Regier, Alexander

doi:10.1017/cbo9780511750434.004

Cited by 2 publications

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“…These phenomena are familiar sources of (usually visual) sublime imagery, and sonification provides an additional sensory channel to the perception. Celestial bodies have a long tradition of eliciting sublime emotions, enough to earn astronomy the nickname of 'the sublime science' (Zimmerman, 2003); volcanoes have always been a favourite source of the sublime, as they seemingly provide 'conduits into the very bowels of the earth' (Williams, 1990: 87), and earthquakes -specifically the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 -have acted as catalysts in the very development of philosophical ideas on the sublime (Ray, 2004;Regier, 2010). The sonifications of such phenomena often attribute the sublime to the phenomena themselves: a sonification of a star or volcano is sublime because the star or volcano itself is sublime.…”

Section: The Abstract Sublimementioning

confidence: 99%

Sublime frequencies: The construction of sublime listening experiences in the sonification of scientific data

Supper

2013

Soc Stud Sci

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In the past two decades, the sonification of scientific data -an auditory equivalent of data visualization in which data are turned into sounds -has become increasingly widespread, particularly as an artistic practice and as a means of popularizing science. Sonification is thus part of the recent trend, discussed in public understanding of science literature, towards increased emphasis on 'interactivity' and 'crossovers' between science and art as a response to the perceived crisis in the relationship between the sciences and their publics. However, sonification can also be understood as the latest iteration in a long tradition of theorizing the relations between nature, science and human experience. This article analyses the recent public fascination with sonification and argues that sonification grips public imaginations through the promise of sublime experiences. I show how the 'auditory sublime' is constructed through varying combinations of technological, musical and rhetorical strategies. Rather than maintain a singular conception of the auditory sublime, practitioners draw on many scientific and artistic repertoires. However, sound is often situated as an immersive and emotional medium in contrast to the supposedly more detached sense of vision. The public sonification discourse leaves intact this dichotomy, reinforcing the idea that sound has no place in specialist science.

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Section: The Abstract Sublimementioning

confidence: 99%

Sublime frequencies: The construction of sublime listening experiences in the sonification of scientific data

Supper

2013

Soc Stud Sci

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“…On the other hand, it is especially popular in the study of phenomena that are already familiar sources of (usually visual) sublime imagery, where the sonification provides an additional sensory channel to the perception. For instance, celestial bodies have a long tradition of eliciting sublime emotions, enough to earn astronomy the nickname of 'the sublime science' (Zimmerman 2003); volcanoes have always been a favourite source of the sublime, as they seemingly provide "conduits into the very bowels of the earth" (Williams 1990: 87), and earthquakes -specifically the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 -have even acted as a catalyst in the very development of philosophical ideas on the sublime (Ray 2004;Regier 2010). Sonification thus seems to be especially popular in fields that either have a long tradition of rousing sublime emotions, or that are particularly in need of rhetorical strategies of the sublime because the phenomena they study allow no direct sensory experience in themselves.…”

Section: Immersion In the Auditory Sublimementioning

confidence: 99%

Lobbying for the ear : the public fascination with and academic legitimacy of the sonification of scientific data

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Forces trembling underneath: the Lisbon earthquake and the sublime

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

Sublime frequencies: The construction of sublime listening experiences in the sonification of scientific data

Sublime frequencies: The construction of sublime listening experiences in the sonification of scientific data

Lobbying for the ear : the public fascination with and academic legitimacy of the sonification of scientific data

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