A sonification of the public sculpture Five Factors by Peter Calaboyias. I transform Five Factors into an instrument and a speaker using tactile bass shakers & transducers. This resonant sculpture of five hollow steel obelisks is situated in Mellon Park, a public space at the end of the gentrifying Penn Avenue commercial corridor in East Liberty. I invite local musicians and sound artists to activate (play) the sonified sculpture with live improvisation and prepared pieces.

Questions central to Audio.belisk are: How can sound be conducted and amplified by metal? How can a community of musical improvisers transform public space and the built environment? What DIY and bureaucratic processes does it take to do so?

Two “soundings” took place between 2023-2024.

Videography: Audrey Medrano-Fuquay

Camera Assistant: Sophia Madison

Special Thanks: Peter Calaboyias, Pittsburgh Sound Preserve, Annie Hui-Hsin Hsieh, Jen Kutler, Fey Harding

Project made possible with funding from The Heinz Endowments & The Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry.