---

Very often the so-called interactive compositions involve trained performers as if composers don’t trust the audience to participate. This way the ‘society of the spectacle’ (G. Debord) is reproduced time and again. The only way to break this vicious circle is to let the audience play its own role in the composition. Acoustic Images is a “concert sculpture” where a full-length 40-minute 4 parts concert can be performed solely by the audience.

Interactive audio-visual installation “Acoustic Images” is about interdependence of audience’s movements, sound and video. Every viewer becomes a co-author, a conductor and a performer, who adds her own music part to the sounding composition. A camera captures movements of the audience and transforms them into sound. Different motions produce different pitches, timbers and volumes and panoramic position of sound.

At the same time the resulting music produces video images. Thus the audience can simultaneously see and hear results of their motions.

Importantly the resulting sound is harmonized so that it does not produce cacophony but meaningful music, developing from part to part. The composer had 2 challenges: 1) to provide the bit which would make the audience want to dance; 2) to allow enough scope for the chance factor.

---

“Acoustic Images” scheme.

---

Acoustic Images tech rider (eng)

---

---

Below you can hear an audio fragment of another part.

big images:

---

Acoustic Images is a comprehensive and successful system. The systems dependence on motion means that it is of worth for those involved in contemporary dance. The suggestion that the audience members (in this performance) are used for sonification definitely adds weight to thissubmission. By using the audience as a control stream, the lines between composer, performer and software engineer are blurred.

Die reist al enkele jaren de wereld rond met Acoustic Images, een kruising tussen een digitale sculptuur en een soort elektronisch concert dat integraal door de toeschouwer kan worden opgevoerd. Hij moet zich daarvoor louter door de ruimte bewegen. Voor de duidelijkheid: ja, het is een pak eenvoudiger (en leuker) dan het klinkt. Om grote teleurstellingen te vermijden: nee, de kans dat je een symfonisch meesterwerk voortbrengt door op je hoofd te gaan staan en intussen met je armen te zwaaien, is erg klein. Wat natuurlijk niet wil zeggen dat je het niet mag proberen.