Spiral and Sheet
Installation - Copper, Theremins, MTB, Sampler
1997
Excerpt1 (0' 17" QuickTime 1.23mb 22Khz mono) demonstrated by the artist
Excerpt2 (0' 10" QuickTime 954kb 22Khz mono) demonstrated by the artist
Spiral and Sheet represents a continuation in a series of pieces I have been developing for interactive electronics and Theremin. These works explore the interaction of gesture and sound. All of the sonic material in Spiral and Sheet is created as the result of gestures performed near the aerials. The work is performed by moving into the field of the aerials. Fast gestures will produce different harmonic and rhythmic results to slow movements. Holding your hand still, close to the aerials, will maintain the current sound world being created. A sudden gesture might pan the sound or cause a change in timbre. Independent gestures between both ariels will produce more complex results. By moving yourself away from the aerials you create silence.
The implementation of Spiral and Sheet represents an interaction between old and new technologies. The Theremin is an analogue electronic instrument invented in 1919 by Leon Theremin (1896-1993). In its original form the aerials used by the Theremin were simple thin pieces of wire. The frequency and volume of two oscillators were altered by hand movements close to the wires. The aerials used in Spiral and Sheet create a rich and complex field which is analysed by my program running on a micro-computer - the MTB.* This program interprets gestures made in the aerials' fields through sound. The program uses the different gestures it detects to make decisions of what harmonic and rhythmic material to generate and how to play it. The piece exists in the three fold interaction of the performer electronics and software.
Images below from -
Pulse Friction
Plimsoll Gallery, Centre for the Arts, Hunter Street, Hobart.
24 October - 16 November 1997.
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* The MIDI Tool Box is a HC11-based hardware system designed by Greg Schiemer in 1989 as a development system for new musical applications. Applications, developed on a variety of host machines, PC, Macintosh etc can boot automatically on power-up making the MTB useful to develop music machines which do not use a disk-operating system or console terminal for I/O. Design philosophy of the MTB facilitates low-level programming for composer/performer(s) who design and construct purpose-built instruments suitable for interactive performance.
