Sound… light…dust… dark…
A small reminder for very interesting thing I saw on Touch me Festival. Interactive sound installation ‘From dust till dawn’ by Dietmar Offenhuber and Markus Decker was presented long time ago at Ars Electronica (2006).
‘From dust till dawn’, photo by Transform Magazine (c)
That edition was curated by one of my favourite media artist John Maeda. Maeda’s starting point was the concept of simplicity, his central interest for several years.
‘From dust till dawn’, photo by Kontejner (c)
The catalogue for Touch me Festival tells you that “From Dust Till Dawn kicks up a lot of dust and produces noise in the form of acoustic trace – with atmosphere being its sole medium of interaction. The project is a sound installation for a room with a dusty floor, on which a number of phonographs are placed, playing back silent vinyl records.”
‘From dust till dawn’, photo by Kontejner (c)
“As a result of the visitors’ movements, particles of dust accumulate in the grooves of empty records and define a musical score. A carpet of monochromatic light visualizes the turbulence in the atmosphere and detects its ephemeral structures, which are directly linked to the noise generated by the dusty records. Over time, the physical impact of the interaction irreversibly consumes the interface and destroys the needles of the phonographs.”
‘From dust till dawn’, photo by Transform Magazine (c)
Offenhuber & Decker tend to introduce the audience with their small dark urban ‘sandstone’ where you can play with dust and light as long you wish, since there is no tempo, no rhythm, and no time limitations. Only existing limitations are those that could be created by participants.
‘From dust till dawn’, photo by Kontejner (c)
The sound form is predominately based on sensations stimulated by mechanical vibrations, letting you to feel the pulses of your own steps, jumps and scuffs with neon lights created around shoes as a result of light usage and dark scenography. That makes the whole play organic, in line with the meaning of dust.