debacle, 2015-2016

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debacle, 2015

  • 22’ x 3’ x 3’ (the height is adjustable, 22′ height is from the photo image)
  • September 2015. Paul W. Zucaire Gallery, Stony Brook, NY
  • Prerecorded sound by artist & a real-time computer-response sound
  • Steel, Washi-paper, cotton strings, MacBook Pro, PureData(Pd), headphone, light sensor, piezo sensor, Arduino, a real-time activated sculptural sound installation.
  • — sound info —
    composer & piano: Takafumi Ide
    Pd programming: Takafumi Ide
    A real-time activated sculptural sound installation driven by a PureData(Pd) program

debacle, 2015-2016 is influenced by “Tsunami” of Sumatra and East Japan Earthquake. The artist, Takafumi Ide, is not a survivor or a family member of the victims, but an observer. He visited the site in Tohoku, Japan and thought what his role is to this event as an artist. Through the work, he would like the audience to feel the effect of tsunami and to remember that the event is still undergoing.

Through a pair of headphones, the audience listens to a prerecorded piano sound, representing everyday life. A drop of water falls to the Washi paper from a high place. When the water hits the paper, a sensor captures the vibrations, which are turned into signals in real-time. The audience hears the sound of random tones based on the signals that are composed by the artist. It breaks the “ordinary” moment fragilely and sometimes violently. The sound is similar to the sound of “Suikinkutsu” (水琴窟, literally “water koto cave” a type of Japanese garden ornament and music device), which is soothing. At that same time, the cold and translucent sound may frighten the audience.

The text excerpted from page: 89 in the program of New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival (NYC EMF) 2016, June 2016