GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — There is no shortage of interactive art in Grand Rapids right now as part of ArtPrize 2.0, and some of it will really make you think. Grand Rapids-based sound healer Nathan Amthor has created a unique piece of art called “The Vision of Sound” that allows people to see that which is typically heard.
“The intention of this piece is to demonstrate how vibration, frequency turns into form and structure,” Amthor said. “Everything in the universe is informed by frequency, by vibration. So we wanted to create a fun, engaging, interactive way for people to really see that.”
The installation, which he references as the sonic tapestry, involves a variety of instruments, electronics and a projection screen.
“It's really very simple,” Amthor said. “We have a mic hooked up to a soundboard going into the computer. The computer is running some software program called Synesthesia that has a bunch of these visualizations kind of linked up into it.”
The installation is stationed in the center of SILVA’s second floor in an area that Amthor said has a cathedral-like sound in reference to the acoustics. The space is ordained with bean bag chairs so people can get comfy while watching and listening. Amthor said certain visualizations work well for certain instruments, and there have been plenty of performances since the exhibit opened last week.
“We've had vocalists, we've had sound healers like myself, we've had drummers, we’ve had some people coming in and playing strings,” he said. “And everything looks a little bit different as we feed it through the sonic tapestry system.”
Amthor, who works as a sound healer, said there are scientific studies that show different frequencies can be used for healing purposes.
“I use crystal bowls and gongs and vocal toning and things like that to help people access deeper states of consciousness, and through that they can achieve what we sometimes call cellular clarity,” he said. “Our cells hold a lot of tension, our cells hold a lot of stuff that we kind of need to ease out, we need to let go of. And in the same way that you might physically get a massage, or you might physically have released through practices like yoga, relaxation, and meditation, sound enables you to release those dense energies. Sound allows your mind to relax fully into that healing process. So sound healing has a lot of very practical applications.“
Amthor said sound healing is nothing new, but advancements in technology have created high-tech sound healing devices. Now, he said, there are even machines that emulate specific frequencies that are used to help people dealing with certain ailments.
“Those machines can help you release those things, align your energy centers, your chakras, and to just find deeper peace and deeper clarity,” he said. “This was kind of the old fashioned way of doing it with sound. Crystal healing bowls are a fairly new thing. They came about in the mid-20th century, but they go back much further. You see your brass Tibetan bowls are kind of the ancestor of this technology and the crystal piano, the glass piano, people playing glasses with their fingers, things like that. It's all kind of related to that technology. And we began to learn how we can master those technologies and align ourselves. Our vibrational integrity really depends on the energy around us, right? Everything around us is continually affecting us, continually impacting us on every level. When we do this, we are taking control. We're taking back power over those external frequencies that are always affecting us.”
“The Vision of Sound” is setup inside SILVA at 975 Ottawa Avenue. Amthor said he encourages people to stop by and try out the technology by singing, playing instruments, or just making funny sounds into the microphone.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Watch 13 ON YOUR SIDE for free on Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick, and on your phone.