Visit to Facultad de Bellas Artes, Universidad de Granada, Spain
In October of 2024, faculty member Paz Tornero led me on a fascinating visit to the audiovisual arts department of the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Granada. Tornero teaches group sound practice, three dimensional recording, binaural formats, and editing techniques that simulate expanded listening. We visited the department’s sound room, with an array of 24 speakers, and listened to audio installation pieces designed for the space. We also viewed and discussed the soundwalks of researcher Hildegard Westerkamp, other artists, and visited the gallery sharing recent student works.
It was fascinating to see the facilities and hear and discuss new sound pieces, particularly as I attended Mills College at a time when the amazing Center for Contemporary Music was in great form. I was lucky to take classes with Maggi Payne, Chris Brown, and others and learn technical and creative aspects of recording, music, singing, and sounding in general.
The faculty member who gave me the tour, Paz Tornero, holds a Ph.D. in Art, Science and Technocreativity from the Complutense University of Madrid, a Master's degree in Digital Arts from Pompeu Fabra University, and a Fine Arts degree from the Polytechnic University of Valencia. Tornero is a practicing artist whose project have been shown at international festivals and galleries, and in her scholarship she analyzes new forms of art that incorporate technological and scientific aspects. Expert in the theory and practice of ArtScience, digital humanities, technological art and transdisciplinary research and education, she has been a visiting researcher at Harvard University and at the MIT Media Lab.