Storm King by Amit Pitaru - The Sonic Wire Sculptor project was originally created by Pitaru as a personal instrument to compose, record and perform music. During concerts, audience members often inquired whether they could experience the tool first hand. This encouraged Pitaru to transform the software into a public installation. The installation included enhancements to the original work, allowing a wider range of users to intuitively interact with the instrument. Gallery visitors would enter a dark room with a surround-sound system, a projection and a unique drawing station. Opening nights for these exhibits would often double as performance and workshop events where audience and artist explore the tool together. Participants would be encouraged to add their work to a steadily growing collection of beautiful and surprising sonic-sculptures. Today, this collection includes work from professional illustrators, poets, 9 year-olds and their parents, and musicians of various genres.

In 2007, Turbulence commissioned Amit Pitaru to compose and perform a new piece with “The Sonic Wire Sculptor Machine.” The resulting work, Storm King, was completed in May 2008. It includes an online video and downloadable MP3 of Pitaru performing.

Storm King is a 2007 commission of New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc., for Networked Music Review. It was made possible with funding from the New York State Music Fund, established by the New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.

BIOGRAPHY

Amit Pitaru is an artist, designer and researcher of Human Machine Interaction (HCI). As an artist, he develops custom-made musical and animation instruments, and has recently exhibited/performed at the London Design Museum, Paris Pompidou Center, Sundance Film Festival and ICC Museum in Tokyo. He is also a designer with particular interest in Assistive Technologies and Universal Design. He was recently commissioned by the MacArthur Foundation to write a chapter for an upcoming book on his recent work - creating toys and software that are inclusively accessible to people with various disabilities. As an educator, Amit develops curricula that focus on the coupling of technology and the creative thought process. He regularly teaches at New York University’s ITP and Cooper Union’s Arts department. Read an interview.