“Melodic Anomaly is an interactive sculpture composed of black angular rock-like shapes that each produce a different sonic tone when touched by the audience”
Set on a pedestal are obsidian inspired sculptures coated with conductive ink. When the objects are triggered through touch they send signal to a computer which plays a musical tone. By using the variable capacitance of the human body as data, it is then processed to play different notes through an analog synthesizer. The sounds produced are different depending on the individuals total mass and inherent voltage. Each piece is thus idiosyncratic to each individual audience member. Viewers are encouraged to interact with the objects and experiment to create potential melodies or noise.
The sculpture is reminiscent of percussive rock instruments used during the stone age. Elias Davidsson explored these artifacts in his journal Experimental Musical Instruments, Sep 1998. He stated that "A unique combination of geological and meteorological factors have contributed to the formation of stones that produce clear musical pitches when hit or struck. Such stones, although quite rare, have been found in as widely located countries as China, Venezuela, Togo and Iceland...". I wanted to recreate the stones but in a version where each sound can be modulated uniquely to each participant. The sculpture itself has this spiritual quality to it and I hope that melodies participants create can bring a sense of healing especially in this trivial time we are living in.
The project was installed in the “Space in Between” a media arts gallery in Calgary AB. March 4th, 2022.
Sources:
Davidsson, Elias. "The Icelandic Lithophone", Experimental Musical Instruments(Journal), Sep. 1998, http://www.tonar-og-steinar.com/litho.html. accessed Feb 2022.