This is a bit of a stock take of what I’ve achieved over the past 8 months. I’ve not only made a massive step forward in gaining Max MSP programming knowledge and created a system which includes light, glass, and sound that I can use to develop new interactive work. I’ve gained skills in soldering, building electronic circuits, laser cutting and the inevitable troubleshooting of all of the above. I’m pleased I pushed myself to create a complete functioning unit as opposed to solely concentrating on the programming, because other than acting as a great motivator, taking on this challenge has given me an insight in how well/bad certain factors I initially had in mind work.
As mentioned in an earlier post, I was part of the Come Find Us event in Leeds this December (https://www.facebook.com/events/973814029473879/). I was given the opportunity to install the work and chat to visitors about my progress. It is a bit daunting to show unfinished work, but I got through it. I installed 4 glass sculptures each with their own hanging structure which incorporated anywhere between 6 to 16 neopixels, totalling 52 pixels x6 soldering points each, I can tell you, that is a lot of soldering! I can address each of them individually with any colour under the rainbow; a wide angle webcam to detect and track visitors in the space and a set of speakers to play field recordings triggered by the amount of visitors detected.
Playing with the installation these past couple of weeks was invaluable and has made me think about what I want to create in terms of experience/perception of the space and our place in it as opposed to just getting excited about what the technology can do. Making a tool that was purely reactive was never my intention, but I did go back to the, I-move-and-a-light-comes-on- stage, in order to really understand how all the different elements work together. Having the installation located in a well used area means I got plenty of feedback, which was really helpful.
I am now at the stage to play with perception and anticipation and how sound becomes almost a physical thing when it is linked to your movement. Exciting times ahead so watch this space…!
