From khs frst on Vimeo.

Truce is an interactive sound installation created by Robin Meier and Ali Momeni at the Spark Festival 2009, Minneapolis USA.

In their seminal paper “Flying in Tune: Sexual recognition in mosquitoes”, Gabrielle Gibson and and Ian Russel from the University of Greenwich discovered an inspiring phenomenon: male mosquitoes change their buzzing frequency to match that of a female mosquito. This synchronization brings their wing beats to within a millisecond or less of one another. The authors suggest that this phenomenon facilitates the mosquitoes’ ability to copulate mid-flight. We take advantage of this phenomenon to engage the mosquitoes in song, inspired by the North Indian classical vocal tradition of Dhrupad.

Our installation explores reciprocal musical interactions between the mosquito and the computer. The computer produces a stimulus signal to which the living mosquitos synchronize. Subsequently, the computer sings a third voice that responds to the musical inflections of the mosquitoes’ buzz. These three voices come in and out of harmony depending on the mosquitoes propensity to maintain its sync with the stimulus signal.

In our installation, each mosquito is equipped with a loud-speaker for providing the stimulus signal, a sensitive microphone for picking up the mosquitoes’ buzz, a camera for giving us a closer look at the insect, a kinetic component that allows the mosquitoes to rest every few minutes and a light bulb that shows the mosquito’s activity.

ABSTRACT: This chapter explores the role of storage in media art and, more specifically, its role in collaborative creativity within the field of networked music. Through a series of paired analyses of works that differentially emphasize transmission and storage or which employ different approaches to storage, the chapter discusses different opportunities, challenges, and issues related to storage in collaborative, networked art. Music by the Rova Saxophone Quartet and by Nick Collins frames a discussion of composition and improvisation; two works by The Hub initiate an analysis of the influence of technology on network design and on collaborative models of shared material and shared control; broadcast works by Max Neuhaus introduce the concept of active storage systems; the online sites WebDrum and Jamglue raise questions about network latency and the persistency of storage; and Bicycle Built for 2,000 and Graph Theory manipulate the level of awareness of storage mechanisms by various participants.

Synchronizing metronomes or the physics of coupled dynamic systems (via MusicThing)

Geo-tagged musical graffiti

Chia Ying Lee’s Sonic Graffiti invites urban artists to collaborate and create music together, while allowing the passersby to enjoy it as well. A system of devices enables graffiti artists to create and geo-tag music in the urban space with real spray cans:

- The sound cap has to be snapped on the top of spray cans to spray out sounds and do simple sound manipulations with gestures. Users create music by overlaying/remixing various paint/sounds from the caps. Each cap can store up to 4 sounds in its memory card. They can be loaded from computers or portable devices like iPod, mobile phone, etc. Gestures to manipulate sound include fade in/out and scratch. Several artists spraying at the same time can create a sound composition.

- The controller is used for listening to the music with earphones when creating, and positioning sounds. It also comes with a recording part can be used for collecting sound samples from the city.

- The Boom box provides a shared listening experience for a group of creators in the public. Collaborations can be achieved both synchronously and asynchronously.

- Audiences can download a dedicated software player to install in mobile devices. Each graffiti is a small radio station. The player tunes into the music of the nearest sonic graffiti automatically while you go through the city. You can also mark the locations of music you like, hence make a personal sonic graffiti map.

This project gives graffiti audio meanings. It may change people�s viewpoint about graffiti. The music can also serve as the soundtrack reflecting the vibes of the city.

More details on Chia-Ying Lee’s thesis blog. My images of her installation.

Related: spatial graffiti, Wearable inkjet printer for street art, Audio messages left in space, Graffiti Analysis projections, Hektor the graffiti machine, emergency spray can, Bench’Mark. [blogged by R�gine on we-make-money-not-art]