To Hear and be Heard: Listening, Embodiment, and Ceramics

This thesis is a phenomenological investigation of sound as a form of touch and the effects of close listening. A methodology for studio process is first proposed that relies on a background of memories and embodied experiences that contribute to a narrative about sonic observations and how one can materially visualize them through the creation of sculptural objects, instruments or vessels. Science is employed as part of the theoretical framework and as a generative guide to help map out a visual language, using clay as a conceptual medium, to express what it means to hear and be heard. This thesis addresses the sonic experience and considers several associated psychological meanings from it. Ultimately, the thinking and narratives discussed in this thesis contribute to both the fields of ceramics and sound art in rendering a body of non-auditory ceramic sculpture that considers how careful listening to sound acts as a form of resistance and suggests further explorations.