unnamed soundsculpture

embodiment of sound

2012

The body – perpetual and infinite – erupts in the space with its mere physicality, distinguishing itself from its environment. Only the movements of its frame reference the otherwise invisible space.

This moving sound sculpture is based on the recorded motion data of a real person. For the project we asked Laura Keil, a Berlin-based dancer, to interpret a musical piece – Kreukeltape by Machinefabriek – as closely as possible with the movement of her own body. She was recorded by three depth cameras (Kinect), in which the intersection of the images was later put together to a three-dimensional volume (3d point cloud). We were then able to use the collected data throughout the rest of the process.

The three-dimensional image allowed us a completely free-handling of the digital camera without limitations of perspective. The camera also reacts to sound and supports the physical imitation of the musical piece by the performer. She moves to a field of noise, where a simple modification of the random seed can consistently create new versions of the video, each offering a different composition of the recorded performance. The multi-dimensionality of the work is inherent in every movement of the dancer as the camera footage allows a variety of imaginable perspectives.

making of

Using 3 different Microsoft Kinect cameras, the movement of the dancer was recorded into 3d pointclouds that were synced and exported as one large data set. They were then loaded into 3d max for further rendering as Krakatoa particle files. A three-dimensional scene was created including the camera movement controlled by the audio. Through this process, the digital body, consisting of 22,000 points, comes to life.

credits

  • Collaboration with: Daniel Franke
  • Dance Improvisation: Laura Keil
  • Art Direction: Cedric Kiefer, Daniel Franke
  • Animation: Daniel Franke
  • Code: Cedric Kiefer
  • Music: Machinefabriek – Kreukeltape
  • Text: Sandra Moskova

awards

  • Prix Ars Electronica – Honorary Mention 2012
  • Video Music Award 2012

exhibitions

  • Film als Skulptur - Skulptur als Film, Martin Gropius Bau, Berlin, 2016
  • InShadow Festival, Lisbon 2015
  • German Pavilion – Milan Expo, Milan 2015
  • Nets: Weaving Webs in Art, Kunsthalle zu Kiel 2014
  • Projection Series, Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal 2013
  • Ars Electronica, Linz 2012
  • Pace Digital Art Gallery, New York 2012
  • Alpha-ville, Festival of Post-Digital Culture, London 2012

screenings

  • Center of the Dance Art, Warsaw, 2018
  • Anifilm International Festival of Animated films, Třeboň, 2018
  • New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, New York 2016
  • Cinedans – Dance on Screen, Amsterdam 2013
  • Internationale Kurzfilmtage, Oberhausen 2012
  • Kasseler Dokfest, Kassel 2012
  • Impulstanz – Vienna int. Dance Festival, Vienna 2012