johannes girardoni: metaspace v2

Metaspace V2Johannes Girardoni

Off

Two interactive light and sound installations in Off and On make light audible

and break down the space between technology and our senses (between artificial

and natural systems.) The installations use two opposite approaches. In the

front gallery, Chromasonic Field is a dispersed array of pigmented resin beams

installed under natural light. Everything in this work is open and exposed – the

sensors, the wiring, and the material. The installation is laid out for viewers

to wander through it’s elements. Movement through the work subtly shifts how the

chroma of the resin elements is perceived. The installation’s appearance slowly

evolves throughout the day as the LED-illuminated resin mixes with natural

light to varying degrees. These light conditions are measured with sensors and

re-articulated as sound. In contrast to the openness of the work in the front

gallery, Metaspace V2, the sculpture in the main space, is contained, sits in

the dark, and uses projected light sequences on it’s interior to generate an

immersive color-soundscape based on the frequencies captured by it’s sensors.

In it’s default state the sculpture cycles through the visible spectrum over a

1 year period, but when viewers enter the work, the light and sound behavior-

sequences of the work are altered. The installations’ sensors respond to

visitors, creating a feedback loop between visitor and work.

And On

Metaspace V2 (left)

Chromasonic Field (right)

The (Dis)appearance

of Everything

Installation with

resin, LEDs and

Spectro-Sonic

Refrequencer (v2.0)

Dimensions variable

2011

Metaspace V2

Raw aluminum,

fiberglass, resin,

LEDs, sensors with

Spectro-Sonic Re-

frequencer

14 x 9 x 9 ft

(425 x 275 x 275 cm)

Metaspace V2 is an interactive sculpture that converts light frequencies to

sound through Spectro-Sonic Re-frequencing. A raw aluminum shell provides the

framework for the sculpture’s seamless interior skin. The sculpture is entered

through a low and narrow opening. Inside, the space expands into an immersive

light and sound environment that continuously evolves. Colored LEDs illuminate

the space through a resin lense at the top of the sculpture. The curvilinear

geometry of the work scatters the colored light inside, in effect dematerializing

physical boundaries and creating a pure color space. Sensors measure the light

frequencies of the specific color and drive a tone generator that converts the

frequencies of light into frequencies of sound, making light audible. The

visceral sound vibration shifts and modulates as the light condition changes.

The sensors also register the presence of visitor’s movement in the space, which

changes the progression and speed of the color sequence and hence the sound. In

this set-up, virtual and physical information is processed both by the viewer

and the work, creating a feedback loop between viewers and the work. Natural

and virtual structures, layered on top of one another, create a multi-sensory,

immersive environment of phenomenological events and digital systems. Matter

becomes light and light becomes sound. Ultimately, in the heart of this setting,

Metaspace V2 questions the border of natural and artificial phenomena.

Metaspace V2

The Infinite Room

Light and sound

sculpture with slaked

lime, steel, wood

and Spectro-Sonic

Refrequencer (v1.5)

Dimensions variable

2008–2012

2685 South La Cienega Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90034

gallery@nyeplusbrown.com

310 559 5215

nyeplusbrown.com

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Design by Kyle LaMar