Microsonic Landscapes / Studio Realitat, 2012

A new direction in the visual representation of music with 3D printed sculptures.

I like how this piece is something different than the usual data visualizations and that they focused on creating physical 3D visualizations for music data. The sculptures that came out of it have something magical and mysterious in them that captures my attention and curiosity. It is unclear what they exactly used as input for the printing. They are using an algorithm to extract certain parts of the soundwave. The website gives very little detail about its implementation other than using Processing and a Makerbot. I was wondering how the sculptures would look if they would create individual prints of e.g. only low frequencies only, or high frequencies. Perhaps isolating individual instruments. I like the usage of pure black as material. I’m not sure if it would look good if they tried to mix different colors in it.

The artists seem to have a track record in creating similar visualizations, generative art and algorithms in their previous work [link]
 

Concentricity / Joshua Kirsch, 2011

A futuristic interactive light sculpture series controlling 96 red/white LED arrays as well as LED-lit acrylic circuit boards respond to the viewer’s movements.

This piece reminds me of a portal or futuristic control handle to open spaceship doors. I really like the interaction of omnidirectional movement, and how this movement is reflected back with changes in color. While the installation might be visually very impressive, it’s not eliciting any other emotions other than the “Wow!”-factor. I wished it could perhaps attach meaning into the representation of the lights or perhaps connect it with something more abstract rather than direct feedback of the visitor’s interaction with the center handle.
Looking at his portfolio and previous work, the artist loves to work and fabricate with metals which gives the artworks a futuristic touch.

Please Smile / Hye Yeon Nam, 2011

Smile and the robotic skeletal arms will wave at you!

I always found it interesting to use robotics to create art. I like how the skeletal arms point and follow your movement through the space, it gives a bit of a spooky feeling. Other than that I didn’t find anything else really interesting. Waving the hands when a smile is detected didn’t really seem that engaging to me. The outcome isn’t really that spectacular or thought provoking. I would have love to see tangible interaction with the hands. Perhaps giving an actual handshake or something similar.