'dispersal, residue' : February 2005
'dispersal, residue'
Interactive sound installation.
THEORETICAL MOTIVATIONS
Originally conceived and performed as an audience
participation piece, this installation is the
culmination of work dealing with the feedback of the
surrounding environment.
A benign object exists in the middle of the room,
humming and lowing. Once the audience creates a
noise, the piece responds with altered versions of
the same. Sound is passed from the user to the
environment, to the machine and back out again in
a natural cycle.
The piece is one of self-awareness and play.
TECHNICAL DISCUSSION
The programming for 'dispersal, residue' exploits the
idea of cyclic groups overlapping to create ordered
randomness; that is, a highly-complex system. A low
hum of 60-61Hz provides a backdrop for the audience.
This is then picked up and fed into a bank of sixteen
samples, which constantly record in one-minute
intervals (3.75 second samples * 16 = 1 minute).
There are parameters controlling the selection of
each sample, which is pitch-altered and panned with
values corresponding to different 'subsets' of the
Fibonacci Numbers. The subsets are generated at
regular intervals, and act as the only consistent
part of the piece. The result however, is perceivably
random, controlled only by the surrounding sounds.
DOCUMENTATION
The installation in various uses. First with a
group of roughly twenty students, then with
separate individuals.
Room-Scale Installation.
(03:40, 49MB MOV)
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