Sound Prism
2016 Bogota, Colombia
Sound Installation
2016 Bogota, Colombia
Sound Installation
Sound Prism is a solar powered sonic performance installation that explores sound as a physical representation of the transmutation of organic energy.
When you interrupt the path of the sun to the solar panels, the sound signal is disrupted. You can talk or sing into the system and distort your own input signal along with the soundscape to create new tones and textures.
The soundscape for the Sound Prism is based on the frequency of the seven main color groups. These frequencies are calculated with inspiration from Clint Goss’ Pitch-to-Sound calculator. The tones are channelled through the 7 stereo audio channels (14 mono). The solar panels output different levels of wattage. The panels with higher wattage can handle heavier bass tones. The lower wattage panels handle the midrange and high-end tones. The sound from the speaker systems can be interrupted by obstructing the panels with one’s hands or bodies.
The volume level of the sound output depends on the amount of sun present for the panels to absorb. The sound is a physical representation of the transmutation of sunlight into energy. More Energy = More Sound.
The Sound Prism Scale is:
C / C# / D# / F / G# / A / A#
Sound Prism was built in residency at Organizmo Design Center in Colombia.
When you interrupt the path of the sun to the solar panels, the sound signal is disrupted. You can talk or sing into the system and distort your own input signal along with the soundscape to create new tones and textures.
The soundscape for the Sound Prism is based on the frequency of the seven main color groups. These frequencies are calculated with inspiration from Clint Goss’ Pitch-to-Sound calculator. The tones are channelled through the 7 stereo audio channels (14 mono). The solar panels output different levels of wattage. The panels with higher wattage can handle heavier bass tones. The lower wattage panels handle the midrange and high-end tones. The sound from the speaker systems can be interrupted by obstructing the panels with one’s hands or bodies.
The volume level of the sound output depends on the amount of sun present for the panels to absorb. The sound is a physical representation of the transmutation of sunlight into energy. More Energy = More Sound.
The Sound Prism Scale is:
C / C# / D# / F / G# / A / A#
Sound Prism was built in residency at Organizmo Design Center in Colombia.
The speakers are designed in order from lowest frequency to highest. Their color frequency tone mappings and relative power wattage ability are:
1. Green - C3 / 130.81Hz / 10.136W
2. Violet - F / 174.61Hz / 11.7W
3. Orange - A / 220.0Hz / 5.278W
4. Yellow - A# / 233.08Hz / 5.63W
5. Red - G# / 415.3Hz / 11.7W
6. Cyan - C# / 554.37Hz / 8.86W
7. Blue - D# / 622.25Hz / 7.722W
