Alex Braidwood
Alex Braidwood’s practice investigates how people relate to the sounds that surround them. His projects do this by refocusing people's attention on listening in a visually dominant culture, promoting the value of preserving natural soundscapes, exploring audio issues related to sustainability, and engaging a variety of audiences with these increasingly important issues.
Braidwood’s work operates at the intersection of art and science while also integrating technology through the spirit of do-it-yourself (DIY) and Maker (low voltage electrical engineering) culture. He builds on his history as a formally trained graphic designer, professional interaction designer, independent business owner, self-taught programmer, and perpetual educator. He develops each project to engage audiences through contextually relevant experiences.
MASS - Mechanism for Actualizing Speculative Soundscapes
This live performance uses the popular platform of the DJ to explore ideas of nature sound in a new context within live events and streaming media culture. Using various synthesis and composition techniques along with custom-built audio visualization algorithms, the overall arch of the performance is modeled after the vocalization energy and activity of a pristine dawn chorus from the time of day before first light to after the sunrise is complete. Nature sound specifically, and listening in general, is largely under-appreciated in our culture that prioritizes nature as a resource to be extracted and time as something to be filled while celebrating busy as a marker of success. Using the language of the party-DJ-as-shamanistic guide, MASS encourages people to slow down, to relax, to listen, to set aside worry, to melt into the moment, to be present, and to appreciate the interrelationships between nature, sound, and ourselves. Drawing from field recordings, sample-based synthesis, self-improvement hypnosis records, spoken word poetry, and hi-fi test tones, this performance asks listeners to slow down and reflect on what’s important about nature, culture, and each other.
Alex Braidwood is a sound artist, media designer, and educator who maintains a practice exploring sustainability issues at the intersection of art and science. He has exhibited art, led workshops, lectured on his work, and performed live at various events and venues throughout the US, Europe, Asia, and Australia. He has been an artist in residence in an Australian mountain village, on an Iowa farm, at a mid-western biological field research station, and on Isle Royale National Park. Alex is Director of the Artist-in-Residence program at Iowa Lakeside Lab field research station as well as Director of Graphic Design Graduate Education and faculty in the Human Computer Interaction program at Iowa State University. He is Artistic Director and Graphic Designer for Group Creatives, a Des Moines-based organization helping midwest cities develop and implement public art master plans. He also serves as Secretary for the Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology (MSAE) board of directors, the MSAE representative on the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology, and President of the World Listening Project.