Category: SectionD

CJ Walsh – Looking Outwards 04 – Sound Art

The Last Gun – Constantine Zlatev

The piece that I chose to focus on is called the Last Gun by Constantine Zlatev, with collaborators Kostadin Ilov and Velina Ruseva. Zlatev is a San Francisco based artist working primarily with disassembled materials to create sculptures.

This piece is made from a disabled shotgun and other industrial parts. The shotgun has been transformed into a double barrel flute and is played by moving compressed air through the structure. Using programming, the sculpture charts the rise and fall of US arms exports and translates that information into music. When the yearly exports of arms increases the flute is programmed to play a somber tune, and when exports drop the sculpture plays upbeat music. The piece is controlled through open source electronics, an Arduino microprocessor and a Raspberry Pi board.

I find the experience of this piece to be really interesting. Obviously, the shotgun cannot fire, but the mechanism used to push compressed air through the flute does have a very jarring sound. The combination of these quick shot like noises combined with the tune of the flute makes for a very interesting sound environment.

The artist writes in his bio that his work is heavily grounded in historical, social and political significance, in addition to his own personal life experiences. What I found very interesting was that he states that a lot of his work is about having ideas and then having an irresistible need to see them realized. This piece definitely feels like a spur of the moment idea that came to fruition, so I think that it’s cool that his process doesnt seem too serious.

Kristine Kim – Project – 04- String Art

sketch

//Kristine Kim
//section D
//younsook@andrew.cmu.edu
//Project-04-String-Art

var bright = 0;

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

function draw() {
  //background is fading from black to white and 
  //when it turns white, it goes back to black and fad  
    
   background(bright);
    bright = bright + 1;
    if (bright == 255){
        bright = 0
     }
    
//all the colors are controlled by mouseX and mouseY
   
   for(var i = 0; i<= 400; i+= 15){
// the top right corner web
        stroke(26, 9, mouseX);
        line(i, 0, 400, i);
// the bottome left corner web
        stroke(mouseX, 9, 217);
        line(0, i, i - 5, height);
//the bigger web that covers half of the canvas diagonally
        stroke(0, mouseX, 217);
        line(400, -i, i + 5, height);
//the  right 
        stroke(100, mouseY, 200);
        line(mouseX, mouseY, 400, i);

        stroke(100, mouseY, 200);
        line(0, i, mouseX, mouseY);
    }
     
//moueseX and mouseY controlling the vertical lines
    for(var i = 0; i < 400; i += 18){  
        strokeWeight(1.5);
        stroke(255);

        line(mouseX, i * 3, width / 2, i - 10);
        stroke(247, 255, 140);
        line(mouseX, i * 3, mouseY + 50, i - 10);
        stroke(247, 255, 140);
        line(mouseX, i * 3, mouseY - 50, i - 10);
   }
}

This project was both very fun and challenging. I played around with different functions and codes that we learned in the previous weeks, such as fading background, mouseX mouseY, etc.

Kristine Kim – Looking Outward – 04

Amanda Ghassaei, SugarCube: a grid-based MIDI and MaxMSP interface that produces sounds with different tilt movements.

Sugarcude, an arduino powered grid-based MIDI,Musical Instrument Digital Interface, controller boots up into a variety of apps to produce sounds. Amanda Ghassaei, the creator behind this piece was inspired by the monome and tenori-on when she was in college. She focused on having the controller itself do all the app processing, not relying on a computer to process button presses/analog controls into MIDI, which makes it portable. The controller can boot up to 7 different apps even though it has the potential to boot up to 16 total. This device is primarily a MIDI controller, but the artist also wrote an app that allows the audience to pull the button and analog data into Max MSP and control audio. I was drawn into this project because of its simple design and its ability to produce sound by itself. After examining the artist’s website and her procedures into making SugarCube, I was more intrigued by concept and idea behind her work. The website contains a lot more complex and detailed steps of the project.

https://www.instructables.com/id/Sugarcube-MIDI-Controller/

Demonstration Video of the instructions of how to use the cube.

Raymond Pai-Looking Outwards-04

Listens to audio and makes fortunes. By Shanghai based design studio: automato.farm

BIY Believe it Yourself is a fascinating project that allows machine learning to create subjective outputs using inputs from the environment. Created by Shanghai based design studio automato.farm, tt is interesting in that the project uses the logic boards as part of the physical artistic representation of the concept. Superstitions and fortune telling from different cultural folktales are programed into Rasberry Pi in order to compute random results to audio. For example, if a person’s name is spoken aloud, the computer interprets the name and outputs a lucky number and destiny based on Indian Numerology and Astrology. The studio, automato. farm, is known for their work regarding social commentary. This is a very fitting design, because it shows that people live with superstitions but computers seem to be objective. The subjectivity of these computers gives humanity to computing in a new way.

Link to project: https://www.creativeapplications.net/scripts/biy-believe-it-yourself-real-fictional-belief-based-computing-kits-by-automato/

Lauren Park – Project 04 – String Art

sketch

function setup() {
  createCanvas(400, 300);
  strokeWeight(0.75);
}

function draw() {
  background(10);
  
  for(var a = 0; a < 400; a+=8){
    stroke('#3FABA2');
    line(a, mouseY, 400, a);
  }
  
  for(var b = 0; b < 400; b +=8){
    stroke('#5AE6AC');
    line(b, mouseX, 0, b)
  }
  
  for(var c = 0; c < 400; c +=8){
    stroke(250);
    line(c, mouseX, b, 300)
  }
  
  for(var d = 0; d < 400; d +=8){
    stroke('#D0E778');
    line(d, mouseY, c, 300);
  }
    
  
}

I was interested in exploring how I can create the movement of waves with curves. By using different curve shapes and different colors and have them combine by moving the mouse and flow like a water ripple.

Stefanie Suk – Project 04 – String Art

sketch

//Stefanie Suk
//15-104 D
//ssuk@andrew.cmu.edu
//Project-04: String Art

var x = 75
var y = 500

function setup() {
    createCanvas(640, 480);
    background(171, 186, 255);
}

function draw() {
    stroke(255);
//    for (var i = 10; i <= 640; i += 15) 
//        line(width/2, 0, i, y)
    for (var i = 10; i <= 640; i += 30)
        line(width - i, 0, 0, height)
    for (var i = 10; i <= 640; i += 30)
        line(0, height, 640, i)
    stroke(150);
    for (var i = 10; i <= 640; i += 15)
        line(width/2, i, width/2 + i, height)
    for (var i = 10; i <= 640; i += 15)
        line(width/2, i, width/2 - i, height)
    for (var i = 0; i <= 300; i += 10)
        line(width - i, 0, 0, i)
    for (var i = 0; i <= 300; i += 10)
        line(i, height, width, height - i)
    stroke(10);
    for (var i = 10; i <= 640; i += 70)
        line(0, height/2, 640, i)
    for (var i = 10; i <= 640; i += 70)
        line(640, height/2, 0, i)

}

For this project, I tried to incorporate different possible string arts I can create into one single piece of work. By adding straight, curved, twisted lines, I explored the varieties of lines in string art and tried to create unity with the different lines. 

Stefanie Suk – Looking Outwards – 04

Image of CarbonScape in Process 

CarbonScape, a kinetic data sound installation that incorporates both traditional and futuristic concepts of technology, is a work by a Chinese artist Chris Cheung. This work consists of 18 different tracks of synthesized sound samples that visualizes the carbon dioxide levels from data received by NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). Inspired by the artist’s natural environment, the installation is designed like a series of bamboo forest with black spheres inside representing the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. This black sphere changes its position from top to bottom (to show the changes in carbon dioxide levels) as the sounds are emitted under the bamboo-like tube. I am deeply admired by this installation because of the combination of man-made object (sphere & tube) and natural energy (sound) to create a single piece of art that represents our world’s natural disaster. I know that the data from the NOAA that is computed to automatically send its information to the installation generated this artwork. I can see from the installation that the artist pursues minimalistic design, which also attracted me because the simple black and white structure made the installation easy to see/read and also made it visually appealing. 

Demonstration Video of CarbonScape 

Sammie Kim – Project 04 – String Art


sketch

//Sammie Kim
//sammiek@andrew.cmu.edu
//Section D
//Project 4

function setup() {
    createCanvas(400, 300);
    //Variables to modify the coordinates of line sets
    //pink lines set a
    aY1Gap = 50;
    aY2Gap = 0.9;
    //light blue lines set b
    bY2Gap = 0.5;
    //Purple lines set c
    cY1Gap = 300;
    cX2Gap = 100;
    cY2Gap = 0.8;
    //Green lines set d
    dY1Gap = 200;
    dY2Gap = 0.75;
}

function draw() {
    background("black");
    //for loop to create series of lines with increments of 10
    for (var i = 0; i < 400; i += 10) {
        //Red line sets a
        stroke(255, 112, 112);
        line(i, mouseY / 2 - aY1Gap, width, i * aY2Gap);
        //light blue lines sets b
        stroke(181,255,221);
        line(i, mouseY, 0, i * bY2Gap);
        //Purple lines sets c
        stroke(122, 114, 240);
        line(i, -mouseY + cY1Gap, width / 3 + cX2Gap, i * cY2Gap);
        //Green lines set d
        stroke(28, 151, 45);
        line(i, -mouseY + dY1Gap, width, i * dY2Gap);
    }
  }

This project was challenging as I had to visualize the lines coordinates to create the curves. Sketching the picture first really helped me, since I got to picture the starting and ending points. By utilizing the “for function” to repeatedly create the line sets, I realized once more how much more convenient it is rather than writing a ton of line codes. 

Sammie Kim– Looking Outwards – 04

Interaction between audience and the installation (Quevillon)

“Algorithmic Drive” is an interactive installation created by Francois Quevillon, who was inspired by dash cam recordings and autonomous cars. Generated with a database of recordings from the car’s built-in camera, the captured videos are synchronized with information, including speed, location, orientation, altitude, as well as temperature of various motor sensors. This mechanism utilizes data analysis and computer vision algorithms that statistically sorts the content, then fabricates endless videos made with specific parameters related to the car’s activity and its current location. The interactive aspect comes with a controller and screen that allows the audience to engage and maneuver the system. I found it inspiring how the artist gained his creative spark from a technological venture, and developed an art piece that raises many ethical questions in our minds. According to Quevillon, he wanted to signify the issue of technical, legal, and moral issues that are involved in autonomous vehicles that can function without human intervention by “feeding and following algorithmic procedures” (Quevillon). As such, spontaneous events can always occur, especially road accidents due to unexpected causes.

Algorithmic Drive installation (Quevillon)

Algorithmic Drive – Spectacular car(au)tonomy

Lauren Park- Looking Outwards -04

“Cycling Wheel” performance (2017) by Keith Lam, Seth Hon and Alex Lai

“Cycling Wheel” is inspired by Marcel Duchamp’s Bicycle Wheel, but takes this project on a new level of interactive performance that creates light and music. Using the mechanics of this instrument, the sound and visuals are generated by using a software made from computational language called “Processing”, along with three other units that control light bean, music, and LED strips.

I found it really impressive and interesting that the artists chose to take Duchamp’s sculptural piece and transform it into a new way of experimenting with the bicycle wheels and add another element of audio to it as well. Inspired by a very physical, tangible artwork, these artists create abstract patterns using lights and smoke that really made this experience exciting. What is important is that these artists did not only create an interactive instrument, but also used it to hold a performance for an audience.

Cycling Wheel: The Orchestra – Reimagining Marcel’s bicycle wheel as a light+sound Instrument