March 03

Probleemstelling actuele kunst, partim AUDIO ART- Moniek Darge

earlier projects or current

human made objects; Terrain Instruments, global's artifacts: auralized wind and snow flake terrestrial data- windscube; sonogram-seeking frost printer "Frost pictures machine"

1972-1979, Coralville, Iowa and Duluth, Minnesota

Clear adhesive tape was used to cover 1/4 inch Scotch recording tape placed against finely-sanded and degreased metal surfaces which inluded a twenty five foot 1873 bridge span and one mile of railroad track (for which I paid a $50. fee to the CRANDIC railroad in Cedar Rapids, Iowa).

Both structures had been in place at least fifty or more years. Five and six month recordings were accomplished respectively. Lacking access to the analyzing equipment at the University of Iowa, I was unable to separate the various noises which I heard on tape playback. I did attempt to use the IBM "metal behemoth-monster" punch card printers but I gave up in frustration when I dropped the shoebox which held my (bridge/railroad track) data.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Data keyboard-entered, plotted by hand from sketches of bird migration traceries (front left bottom plane); sound samples (top, middle and right planes) and lightning (left corner vertical plane ) from IBM punch cards resulted in 1974-1975 University of Iowa, Iowa City roll printer output. Plato IV terminals were also available.

Publicly presenting audio recordings via local KUNI AM was more satisfying than was this attempt at phenomena sonification via the Zeta plotter.

*TAs Jim Bowery, (scroll down to 1974), Kerry Shores

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FROSTPRINTER scroll down

Interactive electronic/kinetic/sound construction required a below freezing enclosure to realize its imaging potentials. The Coralville barn on the previous page was used for testing in winter. Challenge: frost sonification FP was conceived to observe while listening to an evolving frost print: the convergence of sound and its image. ((THIS WAS AND REMAINS A PERSONAL CHALLENGE: THAT OF PAIRING UNIQUE NATURAL SOUND SOURCES AS REALTIME INHERENT IMAGING))) All frost prints were erasable using AC hot wire activation, e.g. as used in toaster for bagels.

the four "barn" windows:
***TOP LEFT: -This was the master plug used to effect all erasures. The x-covered pane of glass functioned as does a car defroster. All plastic tubes in the four double-paned areas in the Frost Printer had access for warm water drop inputting and drainage tubes for melted prints.***TOP RIGHT: -(ideal barn operating conditions, well below freezing) This sandwiched glass has double sheets of glass- one is window grade and the back was a double pane silver-backed mirror. Near the top at the far right is the transceiver. It's a double layered circuit board which contains three interconnected components and is solar powered. 1, A combo receiver/sending transmitter- sends and receives infrared light simultaneously and 2, a frequency converter which reads any light interruptions occurring between faceing panes. 3, The frequency-to-voltage converter permits listening in the audible range. Session: The left-directed transmitted light delivers a splayed wash nearly blanketing the interior area. An eyedropper sends some warm H2o into the chamber from the top left tube. The dangling infrared receiver (bottom r) could be hand held and be moved freely, though awkwardly, about an inch in front of the glass. Registering in the "eye" represented dots of variations reading in front of the ice buildup. Thicker glass had a lower pitch compared to nearly transparent ice. Tape editing which effectively required splicing all the dots was only a minor consequence; the major revelation was that my hand needed to be tied to a stainless steel bar (none was available) to even come close to hear a single "lineal scan." I had at least a dozen lines ahead of me. It was reinforcing, a rewarding inside-the-concept process that I took from this particular 1/4 of the windows and was my favorite. Sound's image continues to elude me.
***LOWER LEFT: -This was a high turnover frost print maker and I used heavy water flow flushings to literally wipe or at least try to do image layerings: quick wash over one did slight erasing to it and was allowed to escape quickley; slightly cooler wqter enter the chamber using the eyedropper- it quickley froze atop the previous...and so on. It ended with a near panic outcome. Attempted subsequent layers began freezing over too fast and trheatened to burst the pane. Flushing with warmer and warmer water left me with an unacceptable print. Input, left center; bottom had the bendable drain tube and the twin drains helped alleviate an ice cracking. ***LOWER RIGHT: -To "pick up" expected tiny vibrations, unique analog sensor varieties were used, including, as mentioned, infrared tranceivers, vibration- prone Shadow and acceleromters. The sometimes quick, sharp cracks of miniscule proportion could be heard during monitoring. In other words the challenge was to amplify and record at a fast speed to get the expected high frequencies and later, listen to a playback slowed-down. The copy results: lows reached an inaudible range and the middle to high frequencies popped out above the noisy din. This dual sound-imaging building session included copying to another cassette. Both tape background noises were excessive. This was too loud. The sound originally monitored did not show up during the final playback. Using a pair of $29.95 cassette recorders did their part, in those pre-Dolby evenings in the barn this experience just required a finer oxide coated tape. That also proved not to be the only answer either. Some of these dense cassettes await their "possible DSP cleanup" and are in line for eventual archival double-sided DVD recording.

Correctly hung-

details w/visible electric-erasure lines

Keywords: infrared, transceiver, frequencey converter
URL: infrared light -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared
transceiver -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transceiver
frequency converter -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_converter

This freeze frame frost print from a digital camera in 2007 displays the grey scale backlighted by natural light. The imaging objective would be to monitor a realtime frosting process using white light's spectrum to scan -from behind- with holograhic output . Keywords: hologram * * holovision * *

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maple leaf scan (x20k magnificaton) and sonogram of its topography

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Floatplanes environmental sound sculpture proposal for downtown Iowa City, Iowa (drawing for 1975-76 competition)

(new images?) A low rise mastaba earth form was to be covered in red and white clover (for no mowing). A grey-white gravel path can be seen beginning in the top right and ending at the bottom center. The square foundation concrete was surmounted with used coil auto springs and these suspended an outer dual frame work and the parallel wooden beams completed the floor. The triangulated guyed towers were to hold galvanized wires for wind monitoring. This output was to have been preamped into power amps, which would have produced sound in weather proof Voice of the Theatre speakers at the opposite corners.

The concept of levitating constructions traces back to the late 60s as an undergrad and specifically to a clay sculpture where in a selfportrait I was walking as on air (w/the aid of this open wire structure .

The intermediate FLOATPLANE model below affects the appearance of a floating object.

materials used in the childs playground model--60'W X 40'D X 5' feetH: removeable wooden ladder, shaved oak, auto springs, concrete base, clover & grass interior and a sand sub base

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WINDSCUBE scroll down

 

This Terrain Instrument was a contuation of several levitating sounding sculptures (floatplanes), conceived to be a perpetual Instrument which would use computing processes to achieve sustained manifestations and remain a continution of my interactive international listening series of solar powered constructions. From which future microcomputer-networkable and auralizations from these projects could be based from wind and snow flakes inputing realtime terrestrial data.

 

Conceived in 1972, with the drawing finalized in 1978 WINDSCUBED v.2 2005

 

 

The Windscube, a rectilinear 22 X 50 foot mainframe of cubed aluminum structural modules, would become an integral part of the existing permanent Forest Terrain Instrument, whose other various separate and distinct components together occupy 400 square feet of Minnesota space-work. These constructions are teamed with appropriate electronic sensors and transducers of many types, to intercept individual events within natural physical occurrences such as heat eddies, rain, snow, and wind. The Treesway Terrain Instrument, for instance, is activated by the actual movement of wind-blown trees. The Windscude, however, would account for and monitor a very particular amount of existing space. In fact, one square inch of space. Construction would achieve a floating physical closure in space, enclosing all above-ground sides in cubed form around trees. The trees would have room in which to grow inside and would be the subject of sound-monitored orchestrations as well. The Windscube would be constructed out of aluminum alloy and galvanized tubes, and would be free floating on automobile springs. Flexible interlocking tubular modules for the mainframe are necessary to enclose the trees, and for maintenance. The entire Windscube mainframe module is to house Windinch and Snowpixel units. These represent 2,756 sound monitoring capabilities for all Windscube planes, of which there are six. These sound-sensing electronic modules have separate and distinct responsibilities. Each contains identical sensing components to electronically use wind, snow, rain, heat, light, and other events and qualities with results in the audio range. For example, a bit of snow traversing the 8-inch Windinch/Snowpixel would be electronically usable in sound as its traveling velocity changes.* At a given time, the total Windscube will yield a minimum of 13,440,616 sound possibilities and combinations -- an easy task for the 16 bit microprocessor sampling at 8 megaHertz/second. Construction of the Windscube's mainframe modules, sensors, and microprocessor interfacing would achieve one-half of its spatial goal.

 

 

Freefalling snowflake whooshings sounded on our HIFI.

This Terrain Instrument prototype was capable of obtaining the measurable snowflake or raindrop density, spectral, velocity, angle, of those free falling between the transmit/receive infrared sensors. This detail showsone of the sensing apertures on the interior left side.

2005 "... falling snow is more difficult to study.." Douglas Durian; "... flakes have a rare acoustic quality to absorb sound waves...all flakes are shaped differently..." Gilles Daigle

Aside from constructing sound from literal wind-cubed space and the trees within it, I continue my interest in holographic image-generation from the Windscube.

 

Conceptually evolved from teleSuonoQUAD in which Microflown positions are used --on call and interchangeably--as input: from Lat. & Long. for w2 listening source and/or monitorable via the four speaker planes ((note 2 pair of overhead microphones))

return to data poetry or Terrain Instrument archives continue OR Back to windwitness streams