A lighting sculpture

Personal Art project - 2019

This project started with a personal experiment called Physical Musicality, where I was interested in the profound experiences and emotions that music evokes in individuals who are profoundly deaf. With a primary objective of fostering inclusivity, this endeavor sought to reshape the way music is perceived in the hearing world, shifting the focus from hearing music to truly feeling it, aimed to create a fully immersive and inclusive musical experience.

This project also holds great personal significance as it reflects my deep and intimate relationship with music. Music as the ‘light’ that has inspired the creation of ideas, thoughts, abstract images and designs, Light Stories in Rhythm is, in a whole, a lighting sculpture that embody these memories through the subtle dance and movements of the reflected light that constantly mutates, as the enlighten flux of my thoughts and ideas harmoniously responds to the tonal undulations of the notes with rhythm.

 

One the project’s goals is to bring back the performative and sensorial qualities of music that have been lost with the advent of new technologies, resulting in compressed, low quality reproductions. The mysticism of the act of playing and hearing music has been reduced to simple and binary activation inputs: on-off, play and stop, relegating the physicality and the relevance of the player apparatus as a now invisible medium.

Light Stories in Rhythm exhibited at The New School - New York City- 2019

I often go to concerts performed by the New York Philharmonic, or attend jazz jam sessions. These are unique moments; the music gets another character.  There is a creative machinery in progress involving the representation of compositions, improvisation, connecting with other musicians, following a rhythm, a sequence, a chord…it is a proactive activity…music and instruments aren’t simply played…they are also being felt. I usually seat in the upper tier in the David Geffen Hall with my sketchbook and a pen ... the light that focuses the stage and the artists ... the music that transforms my thoughts into ideas and creations.

_MG_9854a_Edited_LR.jpg
 

As once Picasso said, “Music and art are the guiding lights of the world”, this functional light fixture also proposes a new relation with traditionally “dead objects” that only seem to fulfill one function. As a former Industrial Designer, this piece also aims to delve into the correlation and collision of multiple sensorial inputs that go beyond the mere functionality, but that suppose new and unique bonds, that also break and critic the superficial task of designing a sculptural lamp and symbolic music players.

IMG_0088a_Edited_LR.jpg

The object, that perhaps seems immutable at first glance, is a collection of wooden tubes which aesthetic language evoke my memories of the traditional instruments of the Andes: drums, flutes and zampoña, inert elements that come alive through the dancing playing around fire.

With this project, I wanted to promote experimentation, failure and uncertainty, as opportunities to generate innovative proposals. I want my work to avoid being limited by the demands of implementation and validation, and to get infected by art and technology, as elements that promote the search for critical and experimental solutions. I wanted my design practice to be based on conditional questions that can open up possibilities (condition and possibility) instead of limiting and closing the spectrum of participation and intervention: What happens if I use this material in these conditions? What happens if I think of contexts and audiences in speculative futures? What happens if I think of a totally new and innovative process? What if I fail?

 

Initial Aesthetic - Paper prototypes

Experiment with light and a vinyl record made out of crystal

Another notable experiment involved the encoding of music into a crystal vinyl record, introducing an intriguing way for viewers to engage with the music. By interacting with a flashlight, the viewer has the ability to illuminate the crystal, causing the interplay between light and the intricate ridges on the surface to unfold and project onto the surrounding walls. This mesmerizing visual spectacle mirrors the dance-like dynamics one might associate with a DJ, where the viewer becomes an active participant in unveiling the hidden depths of the music.

Physical Computing. Connecting the Analog with the Digital Worlds

Stepper Motors dancing with the music rhythm

To bring this vision to life, I arranged and programmed a series of motors and how they interact with a flexible material, enabling them to respond dynamically to the music. By carefully choreographing these interactions, the viewer is not only able to listen to the music but also witness the tangible embodiment of its rhythm and energy. The material's captivating movements, influenced by the synchronized motors, create a captivating spectacle that amplifies the immersive experience. As the light reflects off the undulating material and illuminates the surrounding walls, the viewer becomes an active participant in a multisensory journey, where sound, motion, and light converge.

DarioN_LSR_GIF-1.gif