Particle Portrait
Particle Portrait is a real-time installation that invites participants to interact with and guide a particle based portrait of their auric energy while listening to a customized sound bath.
EXHIBITION
Coalesce && Object
GALLERY
Vicky Myhren Gallery
YEAR
2019
LOCATION
Denver
MATERIALS
Leap Motion, MDF, Various Textiles, 3D Printed Parts
METHODS
Visual Programming, Custom Fabrication, 3D Modeling, Sound Design, Projection
This piece was developed and fabricated in two weeks for a pop up show.
The pedestal was custom built out of MDF in order to provide the interaction as well as access to the electronics (a MacBook Pro and Leap Motion Controller) hidden inside. Additionally, black foam padding was glued to the inside of the pedestal to reduce noise and artifacting for the hand tracking.
A basic white picture frame was deconstructed and then affixed to the outside of the pedestal along with some fabric to create a cleaner interface for the participants.
The particle system was created using Max MSP and contained over 300,000 particles which were driven by the movement of the participants hand. An audio component was also composed in Max that responded to the same movements in order to provide a customized “sound bath” for each participant.
Visuals were then projected onto the gallery wall using an Canon short through projector.
A headphone stand was 3D printed and affixed to the top of the pedestal along with instructions on how to interact with the work.
