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Art

Light controlled ambient music piece

Piece utilized light controlled resistors, which were connected to a laptop to control synthesized atmospheres.

The ambient piece acted as the musical introduction to a discussion between photographer Victoria Schultz,  psychoanalyst Heikki Majava and sound explorer (Me). The topic of the discussion was My Body and I – Synchronic Image, Vision and Sound.

The pitches of the piece were controlled with light dependent resistors. I had built two simple enclosures for the resistors, which I held in my hands. In a slow dance I moved about and explored the light and dark areas of the gallery, Laterna Magica, where the event was held.

Laterna Magica Light to Sound PerformanceVictoria’s photos were on display in the gallery, and I thought that light controlled music would bridge the media and weave the topic together. I had built a light controlled audio device a few years ago, which was perfect for the idea.

It has two oscillators, which can be independently controlled. I connected the stereo out of the device to a laptop, in which a modular sound processing software turned the pitches of the oscillators into synthesizer control messages. The other channel was used for texture and the other had more soloish character.