Title: village tones (Part 1) Artist: Nicholas Cladis (featuring Naho Murata) Media: audio-visual sound art performance featuring live papermaking and live papermaking sampling; additional samples and video made from field recordings done by the artist, and; original sound waves crafted by the artist to represent collected datasets regarding river systems and papermaking plant cultivation from 1926 to 2018 [Note: The original performance has been split into three parts here for viewing convenience.] Part 2: https://vimeo.com/372010330/b2826a126a Part 3: https://vimeo.com/372011620/e3100d9f64 Concept: This is mainly a story of water and the importance it plays in the world of paper, and — consequently — in my world, as well. The video shown here was made from footage taken entirely within the Echizen papermaking region. Additionally, the sounds come from field recordings captured within the area, as well as sound waves crafted from data retrieved from city and prefectural records. The sound waves crafted from data express rainfall levels for major Fukui river systems over the past 25 years (specifically, the Asuwa and Hino Rivers), paper mulberry (kozo) cultivation amounts [kg] in all of Japan from the Showa era (1926-89) to 2018, and hibiscus root (tororo-aoi) cultivation levels [kg] from the Showa era to 2018. Thank you to Ms. Naho Murato, friend, teacher, and master craftswoman, for participating in this project. She made paper in the dark on this day, in a 300-year-old papermaking studio. While she made paper, I used a mic and interface to record her sounds and loop/morph them, in combination with the soundwaves crafted from data.

Title: village tones (Part 2) Artist: Nicholas Cladis (featuring Naho Murata) Media: audio-visual sound art performance featuring live papermaking and live papermaking sampling; additional samples and video made from field recordings done by the artist, and; original sound waves crafted by the artist to represent collected datasets regarding river systems and papermaking plant cultivation from 1926 to 2018 [Note: The original performance has been split into three parts here for viewing convenience.] Part 1: https://vimeo.com/372194228/a656a2fd4f Part 3: https://vimeo.com/372011620/e3100d9f64 Concept: This is mainly a story of water and the importance it plays in the world of paper, and — consequently — in my world, as well. The video shown here was made from footage taken entirely within the Echizen papermaking region. Additionally, the sounds come from field recordings captured within the area, as well as sound waves crafted from data retrieved from city and prefectural records. The sound waves crafted from data express rainfall levels for major Fukui river systems over the past 25 years (specifically, the Asuwa and Hino Rivers), paper mulberry (kozo) cultivation amounts [kg] in all of Japan from the Showa era (1926-89) to 2018, and hibiscus root (tororo-aoi) cultivation levels [kg] from the Showa era to 2018. Thank you to Ms. Naho Murato, friend, teacher, and master craftswoman, for participating in this project. She made paper in the dark on this day, in a 300-year-old papermaking studio. While she made paper, I used a mic and interface to record her sounds and loop/morph them, in combination with the soundwaves crafted from data.
Title: village tones (Part 3) Artist: Nicholas Cladis (featuring Naho Murata) Media: audio-visual sound art performance featuring live papermaking and live papermaking sampling; additional samples and video made from field recordings done by the artist, and; original sound waves crafted by the artist to represent collected datasets regarding river systems and papermaking plant cultivation from 1926 to 2018 [Note: The original performance has been split into three parts here for viewing convenience.] Part 1: https://vimeo.com/372194228/a656a2fd4f Part 2: https://vimeo.com/372010330/b2826a126a Concept: This is mainly a story of water and the importance it plays in the world of paper, and — consequently — in my world, as well. The video shown here was made from footage taken entirely within the Echizen papermaking region. Additionally, the sounds come from field recordings captured within the area, as well as sound waves crafted from data retrieved from city and prefectural records. The sound waves crafted from data express rainfall levels for major Fukui river systems over the past 25 years (specifically, the Asuwa and Hino Rivers), paper mulberry (kozo) cultivation amounts [kg] in all of Japan from the Showa era (1926-89) to 2018, and hibiscus root (tororo-aoi) cultivation levels [kg] from the Showa era to 2018. Thank you to Ms. Naho Murato, friend, teacher, and master craftswoman, for participating in this project. She made paper in the dark on this day, in a 300-year-old papermaking studio. While she made paper, I used a mic and interface to record her sounds and loop/morph them, in combination with the soundwaves crafted from data.

village tones, 2019
(feat. Naho Murata)

audio-visual sound art performance featuring live papermaking and live papermaking sampling; additional samples and video made from field recordings done by the artist in the Echizen papermaking region, and; original sound waves crafted by the artist to represent collected datasets regarding river systems and papermaking plant cultivation from 1926 to 2018

Udatsu Paper & Craft Museum, Japan

The most recent story I wish to tell is one of water. This interest has come from my time living in a papermaking region, and realizing the importance of water to the livelihood of craft communities. For this story, I utilize research, data, and sound. I generate sound waves from environmental research data, and perform them live alongside video and paper installation. The data I use in this work have far-reaching implications — in this case, on the papermaking village I have come to call home. These soundscapes thus enable an audience to experience meaningful data beyond the constraints of cryptic charts and graphs.