Masked sound – decomposing canvas

POSTED IN Installation, Reflections, Testing September 25, 2009

When something, like a person, blocks a light source, a shadow is cast. This shadow is in effect a mask, masking out parts of the visible space, as the absence of light is dark, and dark is invisible (in the extreme). So what happens if you translate the same mechanics to sound? To find out more I did a couple of tests, hooking up a light sensor to an Arduino and connecting it to a program in Processing:

Masked sound explored _1 from Kjetil Austvoll-Dahlgren on Vimeo.






The next logical step was to hide the hardware inside an object and upscale the experiment:

Masked sound explored _2 from Kjetil Austvoll-Dahlgren on Vimeo.






The next test I’m planning to do is hooking up more sensors and placing them in a larger space to explore how this affects the experience of it. Other things that need to be considered are the auditive parts of the piece: what should it be, where is it coming from, should it be generated by the light? Or preprogrammed? Or effects on ambient sound? Should the shadows mask out tracks or effects on a single track?



We are used to adding components to the whole when we wish to make something better in our daily lives (seasoning in food, accessories with clothes, etc). I am going to explore what the effect of decomposing does to an auditive canvas, and how this links directly to the visual canvas i.e. the room/space you are in.