Undertones— 2000/2002

Materials : wood, wires, steel, aluminium, motors, microphones, microcontroller, electronic circuit, infrared sensors, amplifiers, speakers.

Dimensions : various

A textured sound adventure, one both playful and unpredictable, that  take place in an environment made up of sound devices that all have their own characteristics and domains: nuts that toc! and chatter against each other as they dance at the end of metal stalks, canned wind that relieves its agitation with a rush, boxes that croak and crackle and creak. Undertones and fleeting impressions of the ordinary, sound metaphors of natural spaces, these automated constructions create a sound environment that is sometimes turbulent, wild and disturbing, sometimes seductive, amusing and transporting. They extend an invitation to saunter freely, to linger, and to let oneself become infused with them.

Undertones is an orchestra of automatic sound mechanisms constructed from a wide range of elements: wood, metal, gears, guitar strings, winding mechanisms, tin cans, motors, photographs, and recycled objects. These sound mechanisms are arranged on steel structures with movement detectors, amplifiers, loudspeakers and circuit boxes. Each object is activated either by a motorized mechanical arm or by its own motors that are controlled by electronic circuits (microcontrollers) that store the program with that object’s specific movements. A master microcontroller organizes the order in which the objects activate and the timing with which they do so. All of the sounds are amplified to ensure better spatial diffusion. Motion detectors trigger all of the mechanisms as the auditors/viewers move about the exhibition space, setting off a more or less organized series of sounds. This orchestra of automatic mechanisms makes for an exploration of sound with endless variation. The sound patterns fluctuate as a function of the interaction with the audience, which makes for a completely unpredictable sound environment.

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Presentations

2007 La Chambre Blanche Québec, QC
2006 Maison de la culture Mercier, Montréal, QC
2003 Eyedrum and Music Gallery, Atlanta,GA
2003 Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum, Iqaluit, NU
2003 Maison de la culture Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Montréal
2002 Chapelle historique du Bon-Pasteur, Montréal, QC

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Text

Catherine Béchard

Translation

Kathryn Casault

Financial supports

Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec
Conseil des arts du Canada

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Video

Catherine Béchard & Sabin Hudon

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Periodicals

2003 Redfern, Christine. « Confirmed rumeur », Montreal Mirror, Montréal (Québec), July 3rd, p. 34
2003 Auslander, Philippe. « L’objet Sonore », 2003 Art Papersmagazine, Atlanta (Géorgie), May/June, p. 35
2003 L’objet Sonore at Eyedrum, Atlanta Creative Loafing, Atlanta (Georgie), January 22nd, p. 18
2003 Fox, Catherine. « Sound Waves », The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta (Géorgie), February 7th, p. Q6
2003 Putnam, Jonathan. « Georgia State and Eyedrum animate your eardrums », The GSU Signal, Atlanta (Géorgie)

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Exhibition booklet

2003 « L’objet Sonore », Eyedrum Art and Music Gallery, Atlanta