Graphical Data Sets as Compositional Structure: Sonification of Color Graphs in RGB for Clarinet and Piano

Abstract

Abstract This article follows the methodology behind the composition of the author's piece RGB (2019) for clarinet and piano, a sonification of four color graphs generated from Jackson Pollock's Out of the Web (1949). The article demonstrates the process of “mapping” data to sound while creating allowances for compositional intuition. In this way, the author hopes to demonstrate the usefulness and flexibility of composing with this approach, as well as its future implications and potential improvements, while acknowledging that this is a specific example of such an approach rather than an all-encompassing taxonomy for any visual input.