Nicholas Adrian Knouf

This dissertation proposes the concept of the "sonic field" to follow the equivocality of sonic noise and its distribution throughout space and time. Noise is both something that can be captured in processes of accumulation as well as an unstable fluid that resists containment. The sonic field highlights how these processes simultaneously overlap, interacting in unpredictable ways. Examining this interplay requires a careful understanding of the intersection of psychological, social, and environmental spheres. Through a critical analysis of early information theory and music, sonic accelerationism, robotic performing objects, and sonic collectivity, the dissertation follows noise as it contributes to fluid processes of psychological and social transformation.