Spatial Sounds (100dB at 100km/h)
21-04-2000
Marnix de Nijs
Edwin van der Heide
'Spatial Sounds (100dB at 100km/h)' is an interactive audio-installation by Marnix de Nijs and Edwin van der Heide. The audio-installation is based on Marnix de Nijs' video-installation 'Open Head'. Both installations work with the effects of speed/ movement on perception; Spatial Sounds (100dB at 100km/h) specifically works with the mentioned effects on the perception of audio.
Driven by engine-power Spatial Sounds (100dB at 100km/h) rotates a speaker mounted on arm of several meters. Like a watch-dog the machine is scanning the space looking for visitors. To investigate nearer is like challenging faith, the rotating arm swivels powerfully around. You hear the impressive sound of the mighty motor revving up. Faster and faster it turns around. You can feel the displacement of air when the speaker whizzes past, and you had better jump back, out of reach of the installation. The machine slows down and after the first shock you start wandering around. Exploring the space you manipulate the sound it produces, let's just not get to close! Spatial Sounds (100dB at 100km/h) builds up a physically tangible relationship with the visitor for it is the play of attracting en distracting between machine and visitor that manipulates the sound and movement of the machine.
Spatial Sounds (100dB at 100km/h) is an installation which exists out of a speaker on a long arm with a counter weight on the other end. The arm is able to spin. It's controllable from a very slow to a very high speed. The maximum speed of the speaker is 100 km/h. A high speed distance measuring sensor is mounted close to the speaker and is measuring from the arm into the space. The sensor is scanning the objects and the audience in the space. Because it is spinning it is creating a spatial description of the space. The result is a continuously dynamically changing map of the space quite similar to a traditional radar map.
Spatial Sounds (100dB at 100km/h) is an interactive installation. It is an installation with a very strong intelligent behaviour. The arm is not simply spinning slow or fast but can make very distinct movements in both directions. On one hand the Spatial Sounds (100dB at 100km/h) lives a live on itself on the other hand it is reacting very direct to the people in the space. With the sensor it is possible to detect how close the visitors are and where they are around the arm. The installation lives a live of itself as it is scanning the space. It's making inspecting movements and it will be generating sounds which symbolise the scanning of the space. It is generating infinitely short but loud pulses and is 'listening' to the reflections of the empty space. It will be a composition of pulses in different frequency ranges and in different ritmic patterns. When people enter the room they are immediately detected. The installation will react in both a musical and in a gestural way. On one hand the sounds are directly related to the position of the arm. On the other hand the sounds are related to the dynamic 'map' of the space and the audience. The sounds will be very physical. For example when the speaker is pointing onto somebody it will generate a specific sound. This will also work on a high speed and with multiple people in the room. Otherwise the sounds and movements of the arm will tempt people to move through the space. Different locations in the space can represent different sounds so does the distance of the people to the rotating arm.
