Ebb and Flow of California's Central Coast Lagoons
by Sarah Soriano, 2011
Medium: High Definition Animation

An animation demonstrating the historical evolution of California's central coast lagoons - from the settling of the Ohlone people to modern day urbanization. This animation was created using cut paper, cellophane, felt, and minimal digital graphics.

Created for the 2011 "Exploring Coastal Lagoons of Central California: A Journey through Art, History, and Science" exhibition at the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, October 15, 2011 - February 24, 2012

56 Days: I'm Still Here
by Sarah Soriano, 2009
Medium: Digital Prints, Single Channel Video, Interactive Garment

A woman’s clothing restricts and shapes perceptions of my identity. This exhibition catalogs 56 days of performance, throughout which I examined the struggle to resist or accept gender roles within the confines of my relationship.

View daily archives of the 56 day performance.
Press Release
Book cataloging photographs and online journal entries of the 56-day performance.

Technoetic Rainforest
by Sarah Soriano and David Fodel, 2009
Medium: interactive installation

In this work we explore an embodied relationship with technology by creating physical objects, software tools, and electronic devices that, when combined within specifically contextualized spaces create novel systems of feedback, within which the user is compelled to act, respond, and share responsibility for emergent meaning. Through the use of electronic new media technologies we create improvisational structures, processes and environments that serve as analogs to human decodings of the phenomenal world.

Paths of Transition
by Sarah Soriano, 2009
Medium: performance

A five day performance wearing an army uniform covered in 53 speakers. The speakers play stories of soldiers experiences being in the military, transitioning to civilian life, spouses experience being in the military, and news coverage of the Iraq and Afghanistan war.

The transition to a new community may be accompanied by a sense of loss; a loss of community and identity along with anxiety and isolation. The memories of where we have come from delays the acceptance of new surroundings and the creation of a new identity. I am a spouse of an Army veteran and as I try to transition into civilian life I am engulfed by my personal experiences, the stories of other soldiers, spouses, and the media’s portrayal of the military.

The jacket has 53 speakers, multiple audio players and weighs about 20 pounds.

Many of the soldier’s testimonials playing on the uniform are very similar to the stories I have heard from friends who are recent military veterans. They value their military experience but they experienced feelings of isolation in communities where they felt little understanding from civilians. Many vets were confronted by others who oppose the war who assumed being in the military was morally wrong. Many vets expressed stories about feeling dissatisfied with the lack of responsibility and camaraderie in their civilian lives. Audio of spouses experiences being in the military and comparison of military life to the civilian world also plays along with news coverage of the war and media about soldier’s experiences or affects from being in the military.
Audio:

Read the blog entries about this project...

Filtered Embrace
by Sarah Soriano, 2009
Medium: mixed-media installation

Filtered Embrace is part of the No Place Like Home exhibition: a multi-faceted art installation that explores memories of transition, migration, journey, comfort, farewells and returns. Four individual artists intertwine their experiences, thoughts, concerns, and reflections about traveling to and from home. Layers of imagery, maps, movement, and playful objects illustrate the transition from one home to the next, the illusion of home, and various notions of what home is, was, or will be. Each artist explores these notions in unique ways with individual attention to media, materials, and their own specific approach to the theme. A cohesive whole emerges from these disparate elements in much the same way that our memories of home blur, soften, expand and remix themselves over time.

Filtered Embrace illustrates the perception of home that is composed of memories that transform and become blurry with time. The use of transparent material illustrates the layers of memories that become distorted as new memories are created. A chair, a lamp, an old table, and shoes are objects that represent a space (such as home) that provides comfort with familiarity. The objects have been salvaged from thrift stores and yard sales and chosen because they are similar to objects I remember from my childhood. They do not look exactly like what I recall but they are placed in my memory as placeholders for similar objects and occasions. My memories and the memories of these salvaged objects begin to morph as time passes andnew objects and experiences create layers of life experiences.

Featured Artists David Fodel Brigid Mcauliffe Allie Pohl Sarah Soriano. A collaborative project between the Denver International Airport and the Graduate program in Electronic Media Arts Design at the University of Denver.

Reviews:
Students display artwork at Denver International Airport, by Kristal Griffith, DU Today. 16 Jan. 2009. (PDF, 252KB)

Airport art roundup: Best exhibits at a terminal near you, by Harriet Baskas, USAToday.com, 10 Dec. 2008. (PDF, 140KB)

Urban Contours
by Sarah Soriano, 2009
Medium: Processing, Quicktime Video

"Urban Contours" generates a visualization of sonic space with audio taken from active urban spaces. The animation illustrates saturated sonic environments drenched with human activity. The animation shows a fluid form that slowly flows into the empty space until it is disturbed by sound.

Urban Contours was created in Processing, an open source programming language and environment, during an artist residency at the Kala Art Institute in Berkeley, California.

Your Secret Here
by Sarah Soriano, Adam Butler, Alicia Chee, David Fodel, Brigid McAuliffe, & Allie Pohl, 2009
Medium: interactive installation

“Your Secret Here” is a representation of the confidential nature of coded, encrypted, and interpersonal communication and the growing concern about privacy and protecting our identity. This interactive installation urges the viewer to participate by writing or speaking their secrets, which will be shredded physically, visually, and aurally eliciting an act of absolution.

Meme
by Sarah Soriano, 2007
Medium: interactive Flash movie

“Meme” is a visual representation of the propagation and personal perception of my meme. A meme is an idea and behavior that spreads from person to person within a culture. This piece reflects how my meme was assembled and how that affected (or infected) its propagation. It illustrates the assimilation of my meme into a living, breathing being that gives off unsettling minute pieces of information that joins or sparks a larger breathing unit of memeplexes.

Worldly Transfiguration
by Sarah Soriano, 2008
Medium: audio

This piece is an experimentation with multiple synthesizers that reflects worldly and personal transfiguration.

Audio Sample:

Audio Dream Journal
by Sarah Soriano, 2009
Medium: audio

Audio Dream Journal is a sound piece created by recording and transposing my brain wave activity while I was sleeping. I used Max/MSP to trigger sound events depending on the frequency of the sensor activity. I used 3 sensors with a head band to an iCubeX box to a MIDI interface and then finally to my computer. The patch I created in Max/MSP was able to register the information and create sound events depending on the frequency of the sensors.

Audio Sample:

Laguna Mix
by Sarah Soriano, 2009
Medium: audio

The Laguna Mix is composed of field recordings from the 2008 MotoGP World Championship that were manipulated in Sony Sound Forge. The composition attempts to imitate how sound waves are transformed into nerve impulses, the vibrations of bones within the ear, and the intense energy formed by sounds at Laguna Seca.

Audio:

Dream Finder
by Sarah Soriano, 2007 and 2009
Medium: Processing, Flash

Dream Finder presents simple animated text of dream memories. The text was compiled from multiple blogs where people exchange and log their dreams. I wanted to create Dream Finder in a simple text format that allows the viewer to use her/his imagination to create unique images of their own.

The dreams were gathered through open source software (Processing) to scrape RSS feeds from online blogs. The amount of online dreams was immense and only a few have been chosen for this particular animation. Dream Finder illustrates the large amount of individuals who use online blogging to record memory and experiences in a format that, unlike the traditional journal or diary, invites sharing and understanding from a larger audience.

Feedback Layers
by Sarah Soriano, 2008
Medium: audio

This piece was created while experimenting with audio feedback. With a 3.5mm jack in the audio out of a video camera connected to the output of a mini amplifier I created tones with my body movement.

Audio Sample:

Sorry
by Sarah Soriano, 2008
Medium: Flash movie

This piece was meant to reflect anger and frustration after observing my habitual behaviour over a seven day period.

Swollen
by Sarah Soriano, 2007
Medium: mixed media on canvas

Black Heart
by Sarah Soriano, 2006
Medium: mixed media