Haptic Harmony is an exhibit that channels multiple audio signals of Pachelbel’s Canon in D into a dynamic sculpture. I collaborated with sculptor Sara Parent-Ramos to create a physical representation of our emotional response to the song. For us, the flowing nature of the repetitive canon bound by the unifying ostinato in the song evoked a feeling of grounded airiness that we represented through the use of different materials spatially actuated with solenoids and an Arduino. I came up with the initial idea, compiled the code and assembled the hardware. Sara created the sculptural representation of the idea and together we explored possibilities using materials (e.g. textile, wire, ceramics, silicone) to generate the haptic sculpture.

The primary goal of the exhibit was to explore how people interacted with our materialized perception of the song.

Press:

• San Diego Code Kitchen Art Show, Synesthesia. September 2017
• San Diego Maker Faire, October 2017.

 

 

A presentation on the creation process is below, followed by videos in the presentation PDF.

Performing initial user studies

Video of the final product at the Code Kitchen Synesthesia Art Show