Cymatics / Reconfiguration
Concept
Cymatics is the process of visualizing sounds through different medias. For example, “Reconfiguration” use water and light to build a new system of sound visualization.
This design recomposing three simple elements in a cycle and exploring the mystery between water, sound and light. Changing their normality but maintaining their nature, creating variable water ripples, visible sounds and malleable light.
Usually we listen to music, this time we play with it and use it to create mysterious and unpredictable results, which make us understand the nature and relationship of the elements and discover their variable parameters.
Exploration
Water is the most familiar and basic natural element, but it also can be mysterious and fascinating. The waves at the beach, the ripple on the pond, the bubble in the pot… they show so many different forms and movements and still belong to the most common and natural experiences.
All of these phenomena usually occur in a direct interaction with other natural elements. For instance, a drop on the leaf drips into the water and produces reflections, ripples and sounds. Water, air, gravity, light, and sound interact and form multidimensional processes.
However, water also has a specific behaviour on its own, defined by its characteristics of movement and resonance. By using a closed container and sound these can be explored: endless variations of shapes and movement appear and demonstrate how water can have a natural and artificial behaviour at the same time.
Experiment
I try to reconstruct cycles of natural phenomena and create unpredictable results: with still water turning dynamic, sounds, which can be rather seen than heard, and light being distorted. These three elements are connected in one system, the waves of the sound excite the motion of the water while the light going through the dynamic water produces variable patterns. With different frequencies different geometries of waves appear, visible as projections on the surface of the cube.
Hardware and Programming
The work is composed with water, sound generator, transducer and a single LED. By controlling the tone of the deep bass in several specific frequencies, the water is brought into various patterns of motion.
Interface Design
The interaction between the work and the viewer focuses on the experience of controlling the light patterns. The interface is composed of three audio cables and audio jacks. Each cable transmits one kind of tone, which excites a specific lighting pattern. Imitating the behaviour of listening music by earphones, by plugging in several cables we enjoy mysterious patterns rather than listen to music.
prototype and user interaction
Application
audio device + dynamic lighting + flexible eco lens
We can apply this system to a music player which contains the audio and visual output. In addition, it creates a new dynamic lighting concept. The flexible water lens which can concentrate the light to enhance the brightness by water, and produce a good lighting projection with various sounds patterns. This design brings a new co-senses user experience and a new way of communication between sounds, lights and human being.
/ " Reconfiguration " + Music performance /
Project / Shaping Light
Date / 10. 2012 - 04. 2013
Site / Weissensee Kunsthochschule Berlin
Project leaders / Prof. Carola Zwick, Prof. Hulment Staubach, Mr. Sebastian Morgenstern
Cooperator / BMW
