ORGAN·ISM |
VISUAL DOCUMENTATION;
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ORGAN·ISM | ˈôrɡəˌnizəm - prototype phase 2
2017 -2018
ORGAN·ISM is a translational media project using elements from a disused 1910 pipe organ rescued from a church in Little Burgundy, Montreal, (that is now Salon 1861 in the Quartier de l'innovation). In this instance we use data produced from the intensity and movement of a candle to make the organ sing. The final installation will use weather data as a source for activating the organ. We also envision building a second version as a compositional tool for live performance.
2017 -2018
ORGAN·ISM is a translational media project using elements from a disused 1910 pipe organ rescued from a church in Little Burgundy, Montreal, (that is now Salon 1861 in the Quartier de l'innovation). In this instance we use data produced from the intensity and movement of a candle to make the organ sing. The final installation will use weather data as a source for activating the organ. We also envision building a second version as a compositional tool for live performance.
The documentation below was taken during phase 1 prototyping.
The focus of the in-house staged exhibit was to test the aesthetic composition of the installation and gauge its ability to capture and hold the viewers attention.
The focus of the in-house staged exhibit was to test the aesthetic composition of the installation and gauge its ability to capture and hold the viewers attention.
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Collaborators | student researchers / artists
Navid Navab: PhD Student Indi Program, Concordia (Associate Director– Interactive Sound Design), Nima Navab: Future Indi Masters, Concordia – (Associate Researcher - Architecture, Pneumatics and Interactive Systems), Thierry Dumont: (Associate Researcher - Interactive systems and pneumatics), Garnet Willis: PhD Student Indi Program, Concordia Associate Researcher - Interactive Design), Peter van Haaften: Masters Student, UdeM – (Associate Researcher - Interactive Sound Design), Tatev Yesayan: Under Graduate, Concordia (Associate Researcher - Physical design and fabrication), Evan Montpellier: Graduate Certificate, McGill -( Associate Researcher -Interactive systems), Joe Browne: (Associate Researcher -Interactive systems and Sound), Joseph Thibodeau: PhD Student Indi Program, Concordia (Associate Researcher– Interactive Sound Design).
Navid Navab: PhD Student Indi Program, Concordia (Associate Director– Interactive Sound Design), Nima Navab: Future Indi Masters, Concordia – (Associate Researcher - Architecture, Pneumatics and Interactive Systems), Thierry Dumont: (Associate Researcher - Interactive systems and pneumatics), Garnet Willis: PhD Student Indi Program, Concordia Associate Researcher - Interactive Design), Peter van Haaften: Masters Student, UdeM – (Associate Researcher - Interactive Sound Design), Tatev Yesayan: Under Graduate, Concordia (Associate Researcher - Physical design and fabrication), Evan Montpellier: Graduate Certificate, McGill -( Associate Researcher -Interactive systems), Joe Browne: (Associate Researcher -Interactive systems and Sound), Joseph Thibodeau: PhD Student Indi Program, Concordia (Associate Researcher– Interactive Sound Design).
Project Overview
How can heritage objects be reanimated through contemporary technologies? Are there ways to redefine resiliency to include everyday objects that are reinvented for new purposes? What role does sensory translation play in representing the world to us through new means? These are some of the questions that the Topological Media Lab explores with the Organ-ism project. The premise is simple, but the logistics are complicated: invent the necessary tools and technologies to re-use early 20th century discarded metal and wood organ pipes as the instrument to represent immaterial data through sound and light fluctuations. Recent technological advances in sensor design and the ways in which data can be collected and manipulated now make it possible to apply some of the same techniques in performance to interactions that take place within responsive environments. Organ-ism is the product of years of committed research that has looked at new ways in which responsive media could be designed and used to create and shape content from the interaction itself. Wanting organ-ism to be more than the simple reanimation or restoration of a castaway instrument we began by looking at the basic structure of the organ’s pipes and how we could exploit their design to affectively change the sonic outcome. Through experimentation we found innovative ways of interacting with the instruments rudimentary pneumatic balance, which is based on a combination of air capacity and pressure. This means that instead of pipe playing a single note, it now has, like the human voice, the ability to move through, between and around a pitch. In other words, the organ can sing.
In Phase two of our project, we will be translating weather data into sound. Our human relationship with weather is as complex as the relationship of the systems that forms it. Much the same way that weather has an impact on climate and climate on atmosphere our idea is to use this broader understanding of weather to transpose the relational values of these organic systems in order to create a sonified atmosphere that enriches our everyday relationship with, and experience of the world. We are currently exploring ways to compositionally orchestrate the multiple streams of data gathered from weather by creating practical techniques that emphasize the complex interactive relationships of the elements from which weather systems are formed. Phase two will result in a modular installation, allowing us to adapt the exhibit to the architecture of any environment, including the out of doors. Each module will be made up of several organ pipes connected to its own mechanically controlled bellow. The movement of the bellow as well as the distribution of air will be controlled by a small on-board computer. The modularity of the installation means that single units or combination of units can be shown, which in turn means that the exhibit can be in more than one place at a time.
How can heritage objects be reanimated through contemporary technologies? Are there ways to redefine resiliency to include everyday objects that are reinvented for new purposes? What role does sensory translation play in representing the world to us through new means? These are some of the questions that the Topological Media Lab explores with the Organ-ism project. The premise is simple, but the logistics are complicated: invent the necessary tools and technologies to re-use early 20th century discarded metal and wood organ pipes as the instrument to represent immaterial data through sound and light fluctuations. Recent technological advances in sensor design and the ways in which data can be collected and manipulated now make it possible to apply some of the same techniques in performance to interactions that take place within responsive environments. Organ-ism is the product of years of committed research that has looked at new ways in which responsive media could be designed and used to create and shape content from the interaction itself. Wanting organ-ism to be more than the simple reanimation or restoration of a castaway instrument we began by looking at the basic structure of the organ’s pipes and how we could exploit their design to affectively change the sonic outcome. Through experimentation we found innovative ways of interacting with the instruments rudimentary pneumatic balance, which is based on a combination of air capacity and pressure. This means that instead of pipe playing a single note, it now has, like the human voice, the ability to move through, between and around a pitch. In other words, the organ can sing.
In Phase two of our project, we will be translating weather data into sound. Our human relationship with weather is as complex as the relationship of the systems that forms it. Much the same way that weather has an impact on climate and climate on atmosphere our idea is to use this broader understanding of weather to transpose the relational values of these organic systems in order to create a sonified atmosphere that enriches our everyday relationship with, and experience of the world. We are currently exploring ways to compositionally orchestrate the multiple streams of data gathered from weather by creating practical techniques that emphasize the complex interactive relationships of the elements from which weather systems are formed. Phase two will result in a modular installation, allowing us to adapt the exhibit to the architecture of any environment, including the out of doors. Each module will be made up of several organ pipes connected to its own mechanically controlled bellow. The movement of the bellow as well as the distribution of air will be controlled by a small on-board computer. The modularity of the installation means that single units or combination of units can be shown, which in turn means that the exhibit can be in more than one place at a time.