smartgeometry 2012: manta – acoustically responsive sculpture

designers guillermo bernal, zackery belanger, eric ameres, and seth edwards have sent designboom their project ‘manta’, an acoustically reactivesuspended sculpture developed as part of smartgeometry 2012 a four-day workshop and symposium in troy, new york, USA.the interdisciplinary project is a dynamic manifestation displaying the incorporation of architecture, fabrication, interactive technologyand research in acoustics into an actualized form. ‘manta’ is formed from a system of CNC machined panels and connectors comprisedof high-density polyethylene while it’s shape results from bending stiffness and triangulation. the hanging piece makes use of its rigging,infrastructure and home in an acoustically inert environment in order to become a truly kinetic sculptural work.

via smartgeometry 2012: manta – acoustically responsive sculpture.

Panels by Paul Devens

From the press release:..At the invitation of NAiM/Bureau Europa, artist Paul Devens has realized an installation in the upper hall with a total floor area of 800 m2. ‘Panels’ attempts to provide the visitor with an intensified architectonic experience. The installation consists of acoustic panels that follow the contours of the roof vaulting, largely obstructing the view of the shell roof. The panels overlap and slide past one another, so that ever-changing patterns arise. With the assistance of loudspeakers, microphones and a computer, the so-called ‘Larson effect’ feedback is generated and the space is transformed into a instrument, so that the experience of the Arched Hall consistently alters both acoustically and visually…

www.pauldevens.com

via Panels on Vimeo.

I Am Sitting in a Room – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I am sitting in a room 1969 is one of composer Alvin Lucier’s best known works, featuring Lucier recording himself narrating a text, and then playing the recording back into the room, re-recording it. The new recording is then played back and re-recorded, and this process is repeated. Since all rooms have characteristic resonance or formant frequencies e.g. different between a large hall and a small room, the effect is that certain frequencies are emphasized as they resonate in the room, until eventually the words become unintelligible, replaced by the pure resonant harmonies and tones of the room itself. The recited text describes this process in action—it begins “I am sitting in a room, different from the one you are in now. I am recording the sound of my speaking voice,” and the rationale, concluding, “I regard this activity not so much as a demonstration of a physical fact, but more as a way to smooth out any irregularities my speech might have,” referring to his own stuttering.Lucier had also specified that a performance need not use his text and the performance may be recorded in any room. The composer himself has recorded the piece in at least one room he did not find aesthetically acceptable.

via I Am Sitting in a Room – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.