Midterm thought process

Many ideas have come into my head while pondering this project. Carlos has helped me choose a direction for this project. My initial ideas do not have any conceptual grounding. My first idea was to experiment with cassette tape. I wanted to research how tape works and create a work of art using this analog format. I was inspired by the works of Stockhausen, John Cage, and the Music Concrete movement. I wanted to research how to make tape delays, mellotrons, or tape loops. This is an intersting idea but I feel as though it does not serve the purpose of this project. This project has to make more of a statement or raise some sort of question.

I am interested in biology and human interactions with the environment. Carlos talked about a work of art called the Melbourne Mussel Choir.This public environmental piece by Natalie Jeremijenko creates sound through the minute movements of mussels. These movements are associated with water quality as the mussel opens to filter water. I began to think about human interactions with living organisms and sound.

This idea popped into my head pretty spontaneously during class. Perhaps the movement of an organism could be mapped to sound. Sounds in which us as humans to relate to. I thought about empathy. Why do human's generally lack empathy for "lesser" organisms. In what ways can humans relate to these creatures through technology. I thought of the intimacy of heartbeat. Something you might hear while getting a checkup, or visiting a loved one in the hospital, or even just simply listening to the heartbeat of someone you love. A heartbeat is tied to emotion, as we all feel our heartbeat quicken when we feel emotional.

Perhaps the sound of a heartbeat could be mapped to the movement of a small animal. A creature in a contained space, surrounded by photocells, could regulate the pace of a heartbeat. My idea looks like this: A small jar with an animal that humans lack empathy for. Perhaps a fly or a spider in a contained space. A small grid of photocells placed at the bottom will be wired in series. These photocells will control the pulse of an led. This led will trigger another photocell that is between the junction of an audio input/output. Similar to my optical tremelo pedal. A low frequency tone will play from an outside source such as an ipod through a speaker. The fluctuation of volume, as conducted by the movement of a critter, will then simulate the beating heart of an animal.