Sounding Peace – angie eng

Sounding Peace, 2025-

What if we could hear the palette and composition of a painting? Imagine the vision-impaired could go to the MOMA and appreciate a Rothko painting through sound? Sounding Peace is a research project on sonifying abstract paintings and translating them according to the Tantric healing system of Chakras. This project is a continuation of Kosmorganic Aesthetics, an umbrella term for sensorial immersive art that has healing and spiritual effects on the visitor.

Test analysis

Test analysis of Sounding Peace with a Rothko painting by translating its color palette into generalized dominant hues and then deriving their hex numbers, mapped onto frequencies. Using AI, these frequencies are then translated into the color spectrum to correspond to Tantric healing chakra charts, which are then translated into sound frequencies with lower octaves. Then, using AI, harmonics can be mapped with vocalizations and ‘music’ over the frequencies so that the sounds are ‘more pleasant’ for the human ear than the pure sine wave.

Rothko painting palette reduced to dominant hues with corresponding chakra frequencies

Rothko painting palette translated with the Tantric healing chart

Example of Rothko painting as a sine wave

Sine wave begins with the dominant color of indigo blues to the least dominant color of red. Because the painting is mostly blue according to the Tantric healing system, those suffering from brain fog, exhaustion, and trepidation would benefit most from this Rothko painting.

Example of Rothko painting with harmonics mapped onto frequencies
[voice/music: Rhys Chatham ]

Since the sine wave isn’t so pleasant to the ear, one can map different harmonics retaining the frequencies.

Deriving frequencies for specific illness: Loneliness/Isolation

Sound sample of healing frequencies for loneliness/Isolation

Translating shape into frequency

Geometric shapes have sound- degrees are converted into cycles per second (Hz). A basic triangle has 3 sides. Each side is a 60 degree angle -Add all three sides and you get 180 degrees or the frequency of 180 Hz. So the sound of a triangle is a pure tone of 180.0 Hz. A circle and a square both which total 360 degrees or a pure tone of 360Hz. All geometry whether it is two or three dimensional is derived from base 60 mathematics.Thus we can take the combination of palette and shape in a painting and translate it into sound.

Using AI, we can translate the shapes and colors of more complex paintings, such as the ‘Altarpiece’ by Hilma Af Klint, and translate the images into auditory resonance.

Sounding both color and shape

Chart translating ‘Altarpiece’ both color and shape into sound frequencies according to the Tantric healing system using AI analysis.

Sounding Altarpiece trial 1 with just color frequencies

The first trial of translating the Altarpiece color palette without the shape frequencies resulted in discomfort because of the dominant low frequency of black at 20hz. Sound frequencies below and and above the typical range of human hearing (20hz to 20,0000 hz) can be disruptive to the body. Infrasound (below 20 Hz) and ultrasound(above 20,000 Hz) can cause negative effects. Infrasound, particularly around 7 Hz, may disrupt the heart or brain. Thus in a life context, the black (lower frequencies) may be eliminated to avoid uncomfortable and even unhealthy effects for the viewer.
The sample below uses the same voice/harmonics as the Rhys Chatham sample mapped onto the frequencies and lowering the octave. Listening to this audio might elicit bodily discomfort especially with the low frequencies at the start of the sample. More on sound weaponization.