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The Prix Ars Electronica Archive is a collection enabling search and viewing of all the submissions since 1987. The award-winning projects are documented with catalogue texts and audio-visual media. All other submissions can be searched by title/artist and displayed with year, category in list form. Please cite the credits (artwork name, artist and photographer) and only use the materials if your article is related to Ars Electronica.
condemned_bulbes: sound, light and architecture for the remanence of human presence
alexandre burton,
Jimmy Lakatos,
artificiel,
Julien Roy
Original: FE_2005_onde0461_102_o.jpg | 3504 * 2336px | 613.8 KB
Original: condemned_bulbes: sound, light and architecture for the remanence of human presence | 2272 * 1704px | 608.8 KB
The condemned_bulbes project was initiated a few years ago by Alexandre Burton, Jimmy Lakatos and Julien Roy, also known as artificiel. After a number of iterations (and some hardware development), the final setup was fixed in a square array of large light bulbs, individually controlled by a computer that allows complex and rich sonic textures to be created out of pure electricity.
The result is an audiovisual installation where sound and light are inseparable—dimming the light changes the sound. Strangely, at maximum intensity (1000 watts) the bulbs are almost silent. It is when they are dimmed that they produce their louder sounds.
Both installation and performance contexts are suitable for condemned_bulbes. In installation mode, the lamps play a cycle of prepared compositions. The installation is relatively quiet, and mostly acoustic (contact microphones are used to amplify some bulbs but no processing occurs). In performance the light bulbs are played live (with custom software) and many forms of signal processing are used to enrich, transform and distort the sound. While there is a bulb-free area allowing one to see the bulbs from a distance, participants are encouraged to enter and walk within the installation.
The result is an audiovisual installation where sound and light are inseparable—dimming the light changes the sound. Strangely, at maximum intensity (1000 watts) the bulbs are almost silent. It is when they are dimmed that they produce their louder sounds.
Both installation and performance contexts are suitable for condemned_bulbes. In installation mode, the lamps play a cycle of prepared compositions. The installation is relatively quiet, and mostly acoustic (contact microphones are used to amplify some bulbs but no processing occurs). In performance the light bulbs are played live (with custom software) and many forms of signal processing are used to enrich, transform and distort the sound. While there is a bulb-free area allowing one to see the bulbs from a distance, participants are encouraged to enter and walk within the installation.
Alexandre Burton (CA), composer, digital instrument maker, researcher. His interest in technology stems from a desire to reveal a new form of expressivity, genuinely digital. Minimalistic and sober, his work is based on the writing and organisation of relationships between different medias or techniques.
Julien Roy (CA) is mostly an audio artist and musician who likes to express his emotions with an array of digital creation tools. As well as being part of artificiel and of the electronic music duo EBG, he frequently works with other people on projects involving music, video, installation, and digital arts.
Jimmy Lakatos (CA) escapes labeling. His work led him to what he describes as videoscenography. An intrepid artist, he likes cracks and the risks they imply. A technical saltimbanco, he transposes his artistic preoccupations into deliberately unstable setups, finding equilibrium thanks to a very personal language.
Julien Roy (CA) is mostly an audio artist and musician who likes to express his emotions with an array of digital creation tools. As well as being part of artificiel and of the electronic music duo EBG, he frequently works with other people on projects involving music, video, installation, and digital arts.
Jimmy Lakatos (CA) escapes labeling. His work led him to what he describes as videoscenography. An intrepid artist, he likes cracks and the risks they imply. A technical saltimbanco, he transposes his artistic preoccupations into deliberately unstable setups, finding equilibrium thanks to a very personal language.