JJ Legelis – Looking Outwards 04: Sound Art

Destin Sandlin, well known for his Smarter Everyday youtube series, is also the creator of a video series titled The Sound Traveler. This series combines point of view (POV) video, with binaurally recorded audio to create an immersive experience. The videos produced in this manner stand out from other typical POV videos in one key way, the sound. In most videos the listener can hear the audio coming from the center or to some degree of left/right. But the special way the audio is recorded in Destin’s videos allows the listener to hear sounds as coming from all axis, front, behind, and even above and below. This slight change causes the entire range of hearing ability to be utilized, causing a feeling of sincere immersion.

The videos are recorded using an odd microphone setup that causes the sound to interact with an artificial ear before it hits the microphone, allowing the small nuances of the (fake) human ear and ear canal to augment the sound in the same way a real ear would.

Video from The Sound Traveler Exemplifying Binaural Recording

Project 3 rrandell

sketch

/* Rani Randell
Section A
rrandell@andrew.cmu.edu
Project 03 */

var backcolor;
var x = 0;
var y = 0;

function setup() {
    createCanvas(400, 400);
    
}

function draw() {

	var R = mouseX;
    var G = mouseY;
    var B = mouseX;
    backcolor = color(R, G, B);
	background(backcolor); //make the background change randomly with the mouse movement
	
	noStroke(0);
	fill(161, 0, 0);
	rect(mouseX, 0, 10, 400);
	
	fill(161, 161, 0);
	rect(mouseX + 40, 0, 10, 400);
	
	fill(7, 136, 70);
	rect(mouseX + 80, 0, 10, 400);
	
	fill(162, 82, 3);
	rect(mouseX + 120, 0, 10, 400);
	
	fill(0, 33, 203);
	rect(mouseX - 40, 0, 10, 400);
	
	fill(153, 0, 77);
	rect(0, mouseY, 400, 10);
	
	fill(101, 130, 0);
	rect(0, mouseY + 40, 400, 10);
	
	fill(65, 102, 0);
	rect(0, mouseY + 80, 400, 10);
	
	fill(68, 10, 127);
	rect(0, mouseY + 160, 400, 10);



	}

For this project I really wanted to experiment with color when the mouse is moved around. I made a small optical illusion with both line and color. I was really inspired by Mondrian’s clean lines and geometry for this project.

Jamie Dorst Looking Outward 04

For this week’s Looking Outward post, I chose to write about The Classyfier. The Classyfier is a table that recognizes sounds from beverages (the clink of a wine glass, a can opening, a spoon stirring tea, etc.) and automatically plays appropriate music.

The Classyfier–a sound detecting music automator.

I admire this project because I think it’s a really creative use of AI. Even though I don’t think this is the most urgent or influential project, I think it’s cool that we can use this technology to create more projects in the future; A smart music playing table might not change the world, but we can use this technology to make something that will. In the article linked above, it says that they used Wekinator, Processing, and the OFX Collection. I also found it cool that they used processing because that’s similar to p5.js. It’s inspiring that projects like this are being made in a language very similar to the one that we’re learning, meaning that we are that much closer to creating this type of stuff ourselves.

Video demonstrating The Classyfier in action

Connor McGaffin – Looking Outwards – 04

“Deep Web” 2016
Robert Henke

I was initially drawn to this project simply through how surreal the documentation video is. The size of the crowd gathered under the laser show allows for an entirely more immersive experience. Upon reading into how the project was accomplished, and realizing that these glowing orbs of light are simply illuminated balloons being raised up and down my disbelief didn’t falter. Rather than the project losing its sense of wonder, my attention shifted to disbelief at how incredibly simple the physical setup of the show is.

In this moment, I couldn’t fully explain the algorithms behind this project. However, I have suspicions that the variables which control the movement are related to the pitch and tempo of the music being played.

Robert Henke, the project’s creator, expresses his artistic sensibilities in a raw sense through this project. A common motif in his work is the unwritten encouragement of metacognitive thinking. His work explores the intersection of sensory and how people interpret reality. This project’s ability to visualize the invisible is so spectacular and immersive that it is no exception to encouraging a perception of world in a different lens, even if for a moment.

source

Min Jun Kim- Looking Outwards 4

This is a descriptive video explaining Christina Kubisch’s series of art installations involving sound

The project is art installations with an immersive experience where an audience can walk around wires and technology through space with headphones to listen to various and creative sounds that can be heard through the headphones. The theory behind this working is electromagnetic induction where fields are disrupted when electrical objects move near each other. I admire that this project involves discovery as well as a creative process. Kubisch was able to discover a phenomenon through curiosity and then applied creative process to turn it into an art where everyone can experience. I thought that this project was very unique and innovative in that it’s not really a known category of art- especially at the time that it was discovered. I admire these aspects because I’ve sometimes felt as if the boundaries of art are limited, and that we are limited by the tools that we have at hand, whether it be a paintbrush or styrofoam, but with discovery we are able to expand the boundaries of art far beyond what is it now. I suppose that the magnets that shake within the headphones are processed by the algorithms and then turned into sound data which is what the user hears. The creators artistic sensibilities are manifested into final forms when she designs various electrical constructs that allows users to experience various sounds generated by them. I think that with the broadness of technology there are so many directions that can be taken with this type of art.

source: https://www.sfmoma.org/christina-kubisch-discovering-new-sounds/

Min Jun Kim -Project 4 String Art

sketch

/*
Min Jun Kim
minjunki@andrew.cmu.edu
15104-B
Project 4
*/

function setup() {
    createCanvas(400, 300);
}

function draw() {
	background(0);
	//Thickness of Strokes of points
	strokeWeight(0.5);
	//color of strokes
	stroke(100,150,150);
	translate(width/2,height/2);
	rotate(3.95);

	for (var i = 0; i<500; i += 19) {
		//first large oval sideways settings
		var x = 140*sin(i);
		var y = 100*cos(i);
		//small circle settings in middle
		var eye1x = 50*sin(i*2);
		var eye1y = 50*cos(i*2);
		//draws the points outline for all drawn shapes
		point(x,y);
		point(y,x);
		point(eye1x,eye1y);
		
		//draws the lines on the vertial line
		for (var v = -200; v<201; v += 50) {
			stroke(100,150,150);
			line(-200,v,x,y);
			line(200,v,x,y);	
		} 
		//draws the lines on the horizontal line
		for (var f = -200; f<201; f += 50) {
			line(f,-200,y,x);
			line(f,200,y,x);
			//draws lines starting from middle to the small circle
			line(0,0,eye1x,eye1y);
			line(0,0,eye1x,eye1y);
		}
		
	}
}

I started off by drawing some points using the “for” loops. I used sine and cosine to draw points along circles. This helped me visualized where the lines will go. I then used nested “for” loops to draw the lines. The lines went along all sides of the canvas and I thought that it looked well. I was messing around with the variables and the end result turned out to be an upside-down tilted heart. I then translated to the middle of the canvas in order to rotate it, then converted all the variables to scale properly. All in all, I thought the project really taught me how to use for loops.

dynamic drawing

sketch.js

/* Arden Wolf
Section B
ardenw@andrew.cmu.edu
dynamic drawing */

function setup() {
    createCanvas(640, 480);
}
 
function draw() {
    background(0,24,255);
 
    var opposite = width-mouseX// makes object go in opposite direction

 //middle

    fill(255);
    ellipse(mouseX, 100, 60, 60);
    fill(0);
    ellipse(mouseX, 100, 30, 30);
 
    fill(255);
    ellipse(opposite, 200, 60, 60);
    fill(0);
    ellipse(opposite, 200, 30, 30);

    fill(255);
    ellipse(mouseX, 300, 60, 60);
    fill(0);
    ellipse(mouseX, 300, 30, 30);

    fill(255);
    ellipse(opposite, 400, 60, 60);
    fill(0);
    ellipse(opposite, 400, 30, 30);

    fill(255);
    ellipse(mouseX, 500, 60, 60);
    fill(0);
    ellipse(mouseX, 500, 30, 30);

//side
    fill(255);
    ellipse(100, mouseX, 60, 60);
    fill(0);
    ellipse(100, mouseX, 30, 30);

    fill(255);
    ellipse(400, opposite, 60, 60);
    fill(0);
    ellipse( 400,opposite, 30, 30);

    fill(255);
    ellipse(200, mouseX, 60, 60);
    fill(0);
    ellipse(200, mouseX, 30, 30);

    fill(255);
    ellipse(300, opposite, 60, 60);
    fill(0);
    ellipse(300,opposite, 30, 30);

    fill(255);
    ellipse(500, mouseX, 60, 60);
    fill(0);
    ellipse(500, mouseX, 30, 30);






    /*

    fill(255);
    ellipse( 100,mouseX, 60, 60);

    fill(255);
    ellipse(opposite-50,200, 60, 60);

    fill(0);
    ellipse(opposite-100, 250, 60, 60);

    fill(0);
    ellipse(opposite-500, 250, 60, 60);

    fill(0);
    ellipse(opposite-300, 400, 60, 60);

    fill(0);
    ellipse(mouseX+300, 400, 60, 60);

    fill(0);
    ellipse(mouseX+300, 100, 60, 60);
*/

}

I created a dynamic image of floating eyes using the variable we learned with width-mouseX.

Ean Grady-Looking Outwards-03

http://www.michael-hansmeyer.com/digital-grotesque-II

Digital Grotesque II (2017) is a full-scale 3D printed grotto (cave), designed by famous computational architect Michael Hansmeyer. It is interesting to consider the medium that computational fabrications such as this exist in because they are intricate and naturally built but also man-made. I admire the extreme amount of detailing in the caves that the computer generated, also it shows the full possibilities of computational architecture and that we no longer have to look at a building and consider the manpower or human-skill it takes to physically sculpt/design building art. The article states the idea that, “while we can fabricate anything, design arguably appears confined to our instruments of design: we can only design what we can directly represent. “, which is interesting because although fabrication offers a wealth of new possibilities, it is limited due to its nature of control and execution, therefore the article poses the idea that we need new tools of design.

Video below shows the interior of the computationally fabricated grotto.

Sean McGadden Project-03

Dynamic Drawing

Sean McGadden

sketch

//Sean McGadden
//Section C @ 1:30
//smcgadde@andrew.cmu.edu
//Project-03-Dyanmic Drawing

function setup() {
    createCanvas(640, 480);
}
 
function draw() {
    background(0);
    noStroke();
    
//Size and Position Variable
    var blackDot = 300;
        
    if (mouseX > 320) {
        blackDot = (320 - (mouseX - 320));
    }
    
    if (mouseX < 320) {
        blackDot = ((320 - mouseX) + 320);
    }
    
    //Orange Rectangles
    //Color Change
    if (mouseX < 340) {
        fill(129, 224, 20)
        rect(blackDot, mouseX, mouseY, mouseX);
        rect(blackDot, 100, mouseY, mouseX);
        rect(blackDot, 200, mouseX, mouseX);
        rect(blackDot, 300, mouseY, mouseX);
        rect(blackDot, 400, mouseX, mouseY);
        rect(blackDot, 150, mouseY, mouseY);
    }
    //Color Change
    if (mouseX > 340) {
        fill(229, 79, 20);
        rect(blackDot, 250, 100, 100);
        rect(blackDot, 350, 250, 350);
        rect(blackDot, 350, blackDot,              blackDot);
        rect(blackDot, 350, mouseX,                blackDot);
        rect(blackDot, 350, mouseY,                blackDot);
        rect(blackDot, 350, blackDot,              mouseX);
    }
    
    //Blue Rectangles
    
    fill(66, 134, 244);
    rect(mouseX, 240, blackDot, mouseY);
    rect(mouseX, blackDot, blackDot, mouseY);
    rect(mouseY, blackDot, blackDot, mouseX);

    //White Rectangles
    
    fill(255)
    rect(blackDot, 60, blackDot, mouseY);
    rect(mouseX, blackDot, blackDot, mouseY);
    rect(mouseY, 400, blackDot, blackDot);
    
    
    // White Ellipses
    
    fill(255);
    ellipse(mouseX, 100, 20, mouseX);
    ellipse(mouseX, 100, 20, mouseX);
    ellipse(mouseX, 100, 20, mouseX);
    
    
    //Orange Ellipses
    //Color Change
    if (mouseY < 250) {
        fill(129, 224, 20)
        ellipse(blackDot, mouseY, 30,                 mouseY);
        ellipse(mouseY, mouseY, mouseX,               100);
    }
    if (mouseY > 250) {
        fill(229, 79, 20)
    
        ellipse(blackDot, mouseY, 30,                 blackDot);
        ellipse(mouseX, mouseY, 20, 20);
        ellipse(blackDot, mouseY, 30, 30);
        ellipse(blackDot, mouseX, 100, 100)
    
    }
    
    //Blue Ellipses
    fill(66, 134, 244)
    ellipse(blackDot, mouseX, 50, 50);
    ellipse((mouseX + 50), 300, mouseY, 20);
    ellipse(mouseY, blackDot, 40, 40);
    
}

This project was interesting to play with shapes and colors. There are many ways that mouse tracking can ultimately lend itself to input changes. I think I would’ve liked to have had slightly more control over the movement of the shapes, I think perhaps more diagonal or rotational movements would’ve been nice. This project is built from assignment 2A and as I layered more changes I seemed to have lost track of some of these changes and I believe there is some redundancy from the layering. Overall, I learned more processes of javascript which is the goal.

Sean McGadden Looking Outward – 03

Computational Fabrication of the SF MoMA exterior panels.

Looking Outward

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has always been a staple culturally. After three years of closure the new facade adds a sparkling white addition to the Bay Area skyline replicating the rippling waters of the bay. It was fabricated by Kreysler and Associates in partner with Snohetta Architects who have experience with composite materials and acoustic design. A large system of facade panels were attached with joinery directly on to the front facade of the building creating a fascinating undulating feature the moves in and out of shadows and space as you approach the building. Each panel was individually designed and fabricated using layers of Monterey sand, fiberglass and eventually sandblasted for finish.

Workers in white suits carving a white undulating panel

This project is very interesting because it shows how computational design implemented with an economic and efficient construction and installation process makes full scale computationally designed structures a conceivable notion. Using a series of geographic, culturally and economic nodes around the museum, Snohetta designed a parametric form that tries to push and pull its surroundings in a natural overlapping of activity and interaction. The wave form on the front facade reflects this idea extremely well.

Sean McGadden