Object 4: Network
This week's assignment was to build a network with a team of others in the class. Our team consisted of Thomas, Petra, Ithai, Alex, and me. The group decided to experiment with audio by building a network of people, each of whom would have a different function/capacity in creating an auditory experience. Individuals in the class would be called on to create the network by donning devices that either generated sound (5 devices), mixed sound (1 device), or amplified sound (2 devices). The interconnections and ultimate result of the network were left to the whim of the participants--enabling many variations.
To create this network, we built five iPod-based sound generating devices, consisting a plastic box wired with two inputs and one output. One input was connected to the wearer's ipod, which was pre-loaded with five different harmonic sounds created by Ithai--the other input was left open for other network participants to connect to as desired, and the output cable was left in the hands of the wearer--to connect as they wished to another person's audio generator (thus mixing their sounds 50/50), a person's speaker, or to the mixer. The person wearing the mixing device also had two inputs and one output, and had the unique power to determine which of the inputs would dominate the output, via a potentiometer. The speakers had one input and output only sound, making the people wearing them somewhat passive, though they have the power to control the volume of the sound that was generated.
The vast majority of our production time was spent on the tasks of preparing the plastic boxes for by boring holes and wiring the inputs and outputs, creating the speakers (which Thomas achieved by hacking cheap radios), and sewing the supporting straps. My main contributions were to sew the straps and help bore the holes in the boxes. Once it was up and running, we tested the network within the group and were very pleased with the results--the aesthetics of the devices, the fun of strapping them on to our heads, legs or arms, and the satisfaction of jacking into another device were all very pleasing to us. Just as importantly, we loved the variation you could achieve by recombining your connections, and through the actions of the people wearing the mixer and the speakers. There was a bit of confusion in terms of exactly what sounds you were personally generating, but we decided that this was a network effect in and of itself (being part of a system, it is not always clear what role you are personally playing). We also realized that this confusion could be clarified by limiting your interactions to just one speaker.
Prior to our presentation in class, Alex took the initiative in creating a brief presentation to clarify how the network worked. Nonetheless, in action, there seemed to be quite a bit of confusion within the class volunteers what their devices did, and the effects that different connections had. Most people with sound-generating devices quickly turned their attention to playing with the iPods, a somewhat unexpected turn of events for our group. I think there was some fun and discovery within the confusion, but we decided in retrospect that things would have been simplified if we had preset each iPod with just one sound loop, and perhaps enclosed the iPod within the device to keep the focus on the interconnections via the jacks. All in all, though, I think this was a successful and fun experiment; I found it particularly interesting to watch an impromptu network play itself out before our eyes.
Photo's above taken by Alex Reeder--thanks Alex! For more, see Alex's blog.