LATEST NEWS:

I will be giving a lecture/presentation at Dorkbot Chicago on Thursday, January 25, 2010.

Click here for more info.

All are welcome and admission is free.

MOST RECENT PRESS:

Lia Grainger for The National Post

Ceci Moss for Rhizome at the New Museum

Gareth Branwyn for MAKE Magazine Blog

Ben Spur for BlogTO

"...exemplifies the grandiose ambition of a young artist."

An interactive installation featuring a performance by Ashleigh Semkiw

First exhibited and performed January 22, 2010
at Spoke Club, Toronto.
Part of an exhibition with Tom Ngo running until April 2010

TECHNICAL:

The microphone feeds into a custom software written by the artist in the Processing language. The software performs a pitch and volume analysis on the incoming audio feed, and then uses a set of algorithms to determine which strings should be activated based on the audio input. The software then exports PWM values for all the motors via serial protocol to a set of microcontrollers. The project was originally set up using Arduino microcontrollers, but it was found that for addressing multiple controllers, the protocol was simpler using the new ArtBus controller being developed at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

The spinning bearing mechanism connecting the string to the brass rod was custom lathed from delrin machining plastic, and the accuracy of these mechanisms is essential to ensuring that the rods spin on axis.

OVERVIEW:

Visions of the Amen is an interactive kinetic sculpture. In the video seen here, the piece is brought to life by soprano Ashleigh Semkiw's performance of Messiaen's Poemes Pour Mi. The primary sculptural elements of the sculpture are the 16 strings, weighed down on one end by brass bars and attached at the other end to motors, that spin at various speeds to sweep out those ghostly sine-wave forms, and pull up and down on the brass rods. The resultant visual effect, overall, looks something like 16 brass rods dancing, bobbing up and down in a forest of ghostly columns. A tenuous, ephemeral architectural space is created, and viewers are encouraged to walk through the rows of columns being animated by Ms. Semkiw's voice.

Each string in the arrangement is activated by a different note, and spins with a velocity dependent on the volume of that note. Thus, each song and unique delivery creates a different ballet. Although the piece was designed with Ms. Semkiw's performanc in mind, for the vast majority of the piece's exhibition lifespan, viewers may stand in the space of the project and activate it themselves, by whistling, stamping their feet, or even trying their hand at the aria of their choice.