Output details

Des Cartes Carpeaux

Music for an installation: sound-files, signal processing and live sound spatialisation

‘Des Cartes Carpeaux’ is a sound installation, consisting of sound-files accessed by a Max patch developed by Faia to control and diffuse the sound. It was commissioned by the city of Valenciennes for the reopening of the Museum of Fine Arts in Valenciennes. The sound-files include pieces by Faia and Gérard Hourbette, inspired by a visit to the Museum, whose main room is named after the artist Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827-1875). The research used composition, real-time sound spatialisation, sound design, and Max programming to address the problems of creating a varied, non-repeating sound environment for a two-month (27th May to 28th July, 2008) exhibition.

The compositions manipulated sounds – primarily from stone and rock, a reference to the sculptures in the Museum – in Max and Logic Audio Pro, with techniques including granular synthesis and spectral modulation. A Max patch was created to select samples from the compositions and, using an aleatoric algorithm, spatialise them to 16 points of diffusion throughout the rotunda of the museum. Three different techniques control real-time spatialisation using a quasi-aleatoric algorithm: envelope control from one point (i.e. speaker) to another in a predefined but randomly selected list; rotational spatialisation with random start- and stop-points; wholly random selection with a point-by-point selection process. Movement durations are randomly created in real-time within a constantly changing time-range. Some of the pieces also include silences so that movement is less predictable, important in a long-running installation.

An ultrasound speaker attached to a movable mechanical arm (the robotics of the arm were controlled by an Arduino using a Max patch developed by the intern K. Alinaghi) enabled extremely focused and moveable sound. Otherwise the installation was designed around commercially available audio interfaces, computers and three sets of 5.1 home theatre systems which, although inexpensive, allowed complex speaker placements.