Looking Outwards Max MSP

Something that inspired me

Mew is an interactive sound piece where a mounted strip of fur responds to the viewers position and touch. If you approach the piece, it emits a purring noise, and if you touch it, distorted cat sounds are emitted depending on the pressure of your hand as well as the direction. I have an immense affinity for animals, taxidermy, and our interactions with pets and creatures, and despite the visual and interactive simplicity of this, this piece very much so feeds into that area of thought for me. I do wish however that the sounds emitted upon being touched were a bit more refined, and less chaotic.

Something that disappointed me

Speaking Angle fell somewhat flat in my opinion. I enjoyed the idea of using a fixed architectural space to form an interaction, especially with the use of words, but the fact that the words did not change, and their movement was accompanied by a very superfluous “wooshing” sound, it left me wanted something more. I think this piece would have turned out much stronger if the viewer’s movement generates different phrases or words, instead the same phrases moving up and down a plane.

Something that surprised me

Musical Skin is an interactive installation where two people interact with one another through touching, which directly creates a sound that is played by a water-filled glass. I found something very sweet in this concept, as well as the execution. I enjoyed the fact that people were the medium, as well as the creators of the sound. In addition to this, the installation creates a reason for people to touch, which is something that as we grow older, we tend to forget how fundamental it is to our social natures, as well as its role in brain development.