when stars become words , 2007
exhibitions: mercosur biennial, porto allegre, brazil, september 2007
when stars become words... was realized in september 2007 for the mercosur biennial in porto allegre brazil. you can see the final installation here; but below are some preliminary materials: sources, models, sketches, and notations, related to the project as it was being built.
a 1942 list of proper pronounciations of astronomical terms.
part of the list of "fifty important special
star names" which is the score for the work.
a small ruler used to translate the vowel structure of the 50 star names into dimensions, which are then used to determine shapes.
one of the templates used to create shapes using the vowels structures of star names towards the design of the two sculptures.
a cardboard model of the largest structure, which is built from shapes derived from the vowel structure of 37 star names . it will be large enough for 5 or 6 people to stand inside of at one time and will also contain speakers and a sound composition.
the sculpture will have a wooden structure, skin, and frame.
below are some cad renderings of the model by the architect:
click here to see a beautiful VIDEO of the cad model
the computer drawing above, was based on the cardboard model above it. when i visited the site, i realized the model was too squat and i also felt it would be nice to have the second work hang instead of rest on the floor. i knew the type of cone form i wanted, but i still wanted to use the original shapes. rather than reconfigure the parts, i asked the architect if he could inpute the original model into a cad program, and then stretch it into the new form. it's the first time a computer has "created" the design of one of my works. this is the second sculpture, made from the vowel structure of 13 star names.
both pieces will have their structural components visible on the outside, and finished wood on the inside. both will have painted elements inside related to the vowel score structure - in the the large piece, the support posts will be painted.
in the smaller work, the wood surfaces of the interior will be painted - in both works, the colors are related to rimbaud's color vowel relationships, and follow the vowel structures of the 50 stars. below is part of the plan for painting some of the individual parts of the interior of the smaller hanging work.
this book contains images of constellations, many of which feature the 50 most important special stars from the list above, and how they appear in the southern hemisphere.
i used the constellation forms as well as the original star names to generate scores that include both graphic notation as well as some references to traditional notation. these scores will generate the sound for the structures. there are ten scores total...
to create the sound for the smaller structure, i placed 10 of the constellation scores beneath the strings of an old zither, using the speaker/star forms as a guide to pluck each string that was closest to a speaker/star's center.
to create the sound of the larger structure, i created a "library" of 5 harmonica tones and then arranged them visually along 8 tracks within protools according to the same constellation maps. since the constellation scores determined the placement of the sound, the composition and harmonic relationships are essentially a map of the constellation in sound (and time).