This is a short summary of the birth of a sheet of paper. For more info on this project and my artist statement, check out my wordpress: http://marekulous.wordpress.com

Hydrogen Bonding

This soundscape composition accompanies a multimedia, handmade paper artwork and addresses the paradoxical relationship that people hold with the land as well as ideas of natural vs unnatural and wild vs. tame. Please check out my wordpress marekulous.wordpress.com for full artist statement and accompanying images.

(Un)natural Imperfections

Prairie Aria I, II, and III is a collection of three pieces that serve as the prototypes for a final project that I will be doing at the end of the semester. I worked collaboratively with musician Leah Meyer (Grinnell ’15) to create these three songs of the prairie. Each composition is “written” during the process of making the paper on which the blank score is later printed. The flecks of prairie plants in the paper suggest musical notation, which Meyer interpreted.

Prairie Aria III

Prairie Aria II

Prairie Aria I

Paper Quartet

This composition is made up of four scores, each made of handmade paper and containing either plant matter from Little Bluestem, Big Bluestem, Indian Grass, or Switch Grass. The plant pieces dispersed in the paper pulp create randomly placed "notes", which were interpreted by Leah Meyer on violin. I arranged and edited the four recordings afterward. "Paper Quartet" is this piece with the addition of some rhythmic elements created by sounds I recorded during the papermaking process. 

Prairie Arias Quartet

Digitalized experience of the papermaking process. I embedded a contact mic in paper as I was making it to record the process from inside the pulp. I approached this project musique concrete style.