Forward
- ". . .the art work . . . is no longer a static object or a pre-defined multiple choice interaction but has become a process-like living system."
Christa Sommerer and Laurent Mignonneau Art as a Living System 1998
Description
Reeds (see site drawing) is an interactive sound installation evoking a twentieth century interpretation of the God Pan. As the wind plays around reed clusters installed in the lakes at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, the reed clusters will respond by generating electroacoustic music in response to the wind. Other general environmental stimuli including air temperature will also cause variations in the score.
Three clusters of 7 reed pods (designed and fabricated by Christopher Langton) (see Section Through Reeds and Reeds Plan drawings) will float on the lake in the Botanic Gardens, Melbourne. The reed clusters will have 3 pods carrying four to six flowers each. These flowers will conceal small speakers, emanating organic, abstracted sounds. A larger speaker driver will also be placed in the body of a number of the reed pods.
There will be 8 independent channels of sound, creating a varied and evolving soundscape in the time domain, there by creating a temporal and spatial sense of organic transformation.
The 8 channels of sound will be divided between the three clusters of reeds.
- Four reed pods in each cluster will carry the flower/speakers, and the associated radio frequency receiver,
- one reed pod in each cluster will carry ta wireless weather station fo sensing wind speed and direction, air temperature, light intensity, rain etc.
Small sounds that represent the microscopic activity of the organic process (ie photosynthesis) will be generated by the computer and fed to the speakers in the reed clusters. The sounds will, in essence, respond as if the internal activity of the plant was exposed. The environmental conditions will cause changes in the polyphony and the aesthetic of the sounds. An example of this may be that the sound process will be more active when the sun is out (the light intensity is high) and equally reflect the other sensed weather conditions (wind speed and direction).
The sounds will be generated (in collaboration with Graeme Gerrard) using granular synthesis and physical modelling techniques within the programming language Supercollider. Custom developed MAX software will be used as the control structure, extracting meaningful data from the incoming stream and sending commands to the sound generation software (see Life Cycle drawing). The sound will be generated in 16 independent channels, different channels being fed to each cluster of reads via low powered radio frequency transmission.
The reed clusters will be fixed to the lake bed by weights with enough line to allow them to move over a large area in response to wind conditions. Their movement will create varying proximity relationships between the reed pods and their surroundings. This information will be used to vary the timbre of the sounds on each of the 16 channels.
In addition to the exciting potential for interactive computer based technologies to work within the unpredictable parameters of the natural environment, Reeds will provide an opportunity for visitors to the Royal Botanic Gardens to be confronted with a truly 20th century interactive aural and visual experience.
The sudden appearance of twenty one reed pods about a metre high in the lakes of the Botanic Gardens emitting unusual sounds will be quite spectacular.
Rationale
- "In the environment, the participant is confronted with a completely new kind of experience. He is stripped of his informed expectations and forced to deal with the moment in its own terms. He is actively involved, discovering that his limbs have been given new meaning and that he can express himself in new ways. He does not simply admire the work of the artist; he shares in its creation."
Myron W Krueger Responsive Environments 1977
Interactivity has become a major consideration in the development of a contemporary art practice that engages with the proliferation of computer based technologies.
Computer based technologies have created a revolution in the field of sound art and music composition. The computer has opened up a whole new genre where primary composition material can be drawn from any vibrating source, and once digitised, becomes a fluid and viscous medium in the hands of a skilled composer.
My interest lies in placing the exploration of the potential of these technologies within an organic and human framework. My installation work has focused on creating immersive environments that respond to the movement and behaviour patterns detected within them. The body becomes the controller. The organic process of human exploration, cognition and response, becomes the central influence in defining the output of the interactive process.
Reeds provides an opportunity for me to adapt my work to the sensing of naturally occurring phenomena (weather conditions). The use of weather conditions to generate a soundscape, that is presented within an organic context implies a level of abdication and relinquishment of control by the technology.
This work aims to explore how the aesthetic of musical composition will be conditioned by the application of naturally occurring, chaotic control structures (the weather). It is expected that the soundscape generated through this process will have an organic, earthed nature, as distinct from the artificial abstract aesthetic of much electronic music.
The placing of this work within the Botanic Gardens is an attempt to investigate the relationship between:
- Site, the organic, chaotic and evolutionary qualities of organic plant and bird life.
- Large plastic reed sculptures and the natural environment.
- Realtime computer music.
- Control structures derived from natural phenomena (the weather).