Looking Outwards 10 – Computer Music

Image of Haptic Organ

Haptic Organ is a kinetic soundscape installation created by COLLECTIVE and honh1m. ‘Haptic’ comes from the greek word ‘haptikos,’ which means “pertaining to the sense of touch.” This installation is based on kinesthetic communication, in other words the installation is generated using motion of hands to create variations of visual displays and sounds. The intention of this project was to make music visible, tangible, and shareable at the same time. This encourages people to interact with each other, which was the main goal of the creators and purpose of the installation Haptic Organ is designed with 20 transparent tubes with metallic spheres in them that move up and down through initiated air movement by hand motion. Audiences can freely perform their own music with the aid of sensors that give different notes across an octave. The volume of musical sounds from the installation can be controllable with growing and falling movements of hands over the haptic interfaces. What I really love about this artwork is that there is a unity between artificial (tube and sphere balls) and natural (sound energy) presented in a single piece of art that encourages interaction between people and the installation itself. I can really sense the artist’s sensibilities for interactivity and minimalism by looking at the complexity of interaction created through visuals and sound as well as simplicity of the installation design. 

Website: http://h0nh1m.com/

Video of Haptic Organ

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