Jasmine Lee – Looking Outwards – 10

During my search for computational sound art, I stumbled upon the Looks Like Music exhibit by Yuri Suzuki. Created as an installation for MUDAM, the piece involves small robots which create sound based on the tracks they encounter. These little robots move using little wheels, following a black path drawn by the user. When colored marks are also drawn along that path, the colored visuals are translated into sounds as they are encountered by the machine.

Above: Video of MUDAM 2013 Looks Like Music exhibit

The installation invites people to interact with it, encouraging people to make their own marks using colored felt pens on a large roll of white paper on the ground. There are five of the sound robots, each with their own distinct set of noises. The noises include low bass noises, computer percussion, drum samples, arpeggio, and chord samples. The artist’s sensibilities in the way he chose to depict the installation as a whimsical playground for visitors to enjoy. This is shown by the curvy, exploring lines drawn in the video example, the colorful visuals, and the abstract shapes of the machines.