At first glance, the metallic yellow waveform displayed on a 48”x18” gallery wrapped canvas hanging above your friend’s couch gives little evidence towards what the waveform produces. It could be a piece of a song, or a soundbite from a famous speech, but until you ask about the artwork, you wouldn’t know that it displays Neil Armstrong’s famous “One Small Step for Man” quote.
When looking at the visual display of their home-produced podcasts in 2008, Nashville residents Bill Seaver and Nathan Moore realized waveforms could easily be transformed into wall art by simply copying their visuals into a design program and playing with the colors.
“We talked about the waveform design, which led us to talking about how famous sayings and speeches might be iconic enough to put on a wall,” Seaver explained.
After a few years of conversations about their idea, followed by the trial and error of creating a marketable product, Seaver and Moore launched their company, Epic Frequency (www.epicfrequency.com), in October 2012. Customers can order either a 48”x18” or 32”x12” canvas with a waveform printed on it. Options for these canvases include Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Fear Itself,” John F. Kennedy’s “Ask Not,” and the 2012 presidential nomination acceptance speeches for both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.
“Ask not what your country can do for you;
ask what you can do for your country” – John F. Kennedy
Providing an additional level of interactivity, some of the company’s prints include a QR code; scan the code on your smartphone and a digital version of the print will appear on your screen, embedded with the audio from the waveform, so that you can listen to it while viewing the art.
“It makes a statement,” Seaver said. “One of the things I love about (these art pieces) is the mystery of it — you can’t tell what it is by looking at it.”
Customers also have the option to send their own recordings to be transformed into works of art. “If it makes sound and we can get a recording of it, we can turn it into an Epic Frequency,” Seaver said. “But copyright is something we certainly have to consider.”
With the custom option, Seaver said recording facilties can send a recording to produce a unique piece of art for the studio. “It’s meant to be a conversation piece,” Seaver said.
