An interactive sound sculpture brings the world to the Center of Science and Industry Museum #Art
“The Memory Machine: Sound” at the Center For Science & Industry Museum
We’ve all seen photos of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, watched movies of the ancient Colosseum in Rome, & stared at the brush strokes in a poster of Vincent van Gogh’s “Starry Night”. But what do they sound like? Daric Gill introduces “The Memory Machine: Sound“, a motion-activated sound sculpture that plays a collection of recordings, taken during travels to some of the world’s most interesting places.
What It Is Three wooden cylinders are suspended 14 ft. (4.26 m) up in the air. They resemble a set of stylized upside-down tree trunks with cut off branches. The bottom of the center ‘trunk’ is clear, allowing visitors to see the inside electronics of the sculpture. These electronic brains run codes that I’ve written to control it. Directly in the center of the window is a round plastic ball that turns red when it senses motion. This is a heat/motion sensor called a Passive Infrared Sensor (PIR). On either side of the center cylinder, are a set of white speaker wires leading to the left & right ‘trunks’. Mounted to the bottom of the left & right, are white speakers centered inside colorful shapes that are reminiscent of growth rings in a log.
For the next year, you can find this piece at the renowned Center of Science and Industry Museum. Let your curiosity listen along, as you go behind a waterfall in Canada, stand inside a giant clock tower in a German castle, & hear the claps of a thunderstorm in the snow-covered mountains of Switzerland.
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