GMU:Home Made Bioelectronics/Dahye Seo

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Homesick

In a drop of water, members of the microscopic world_microorganisms, moss, corpses, air bubbles and many other beings_ play music in this project. The main material of this project is River from Anseong (Korea), Weimar (Germany)_ two cities where I currently live. Rivers of the two cities become a single droplet, an unbounded transperipheral state, because of the physical property of water '1+1=1'. The movement of the microorganisms in one drop is converted into sound data through Max/Msp patch and generate sound according to a designed music notation in real time. This project proposes a new aesthetic, auditory experience, and the expansion of world perception. This is also a metaphor for my physical and mental state after living abroad for a long time away from hometown _especially during the pandemic, unable to visit home for two and a half years.


Music Notation

Music notation consists of a total of 27 numbers and 27 horizontal lines. The number refers to the MIDI number on MaxPatch. Among the 27 lines, 15 lines are displayed as 3 music sheet and solid lines. 12 lines exist in an invisible form between the music sheets. As the line goes from bottom to top and the higher the number, the higher the pitch of the note. The three music sheet does not function as a timeline like a usual music sheet. It only functions to distinguish the pitch of a note. The bottom sheet represents the first octave, and the top sheet represents the third octave. All notes are played simultaneously the moment the microbe crosses the line.

 


Technical position

Max/Msp: It tracks the movement of the microbe, and whenever the microbe crosses the lines of the music notation, a corresponding scale is played.

Connecting the microscope to maxmsp patch: Connect a Canon camera to the microscope and take a video the enlarged scean in the water drop through the microscope. It transfers the video shot with Canon camera to maxmsp patch through OBS virtual camera webcam utility.


Installation Plan

1. Video Interactive Installation

Screen x 2, Microscope, DSLR Camera, Laptop, Speaker


Screen 1 : Video from the microscope.


Screen 2: animated Music notation


Sound : Max/Msp x Microscope

 


2. Sculture

A transparent glass object containing river water. The shape of the glass object is still in progress. I'm thinking rough of the sphere, which symbolizes circulation and connection.  



Installation Sketch


 



video in process

process