a micro-telematic site-specific sound art installation

 

About the piece

The Network Is a Blind Space is a distributed, micro-telematic, site-specific sound installation that explores the physical yet invisible electromagnetic spaces created by Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs). The piece was finished during a residency at the New Media Gallery of the multidisciplinary audio arts center Jack Straw Productions.

Wireless network spaces co-exist with physical spaces but follow their own rules, which are not always intuitive from the point of view of physical experience. To explore and navigate them a new sense is needed, as vision falls short. In nature, many animals that inhabit environments where vision is not a sufficient navigational tool – such as bats and dolphins – have developed echolocation, transmitting sound and listening to the echoes of the space. The Network Is a Blind Space creates a type of musical echolocation to explore this hidden dimension within the particular spatial configuration of Jack Straw. Two computers installed in opposite parts of the building, one in the exhibition space and another in the main studio at the far end, create an electromagnetic line-space that can be transversed and examined – perhaps broken. The piece spreads out from the gallery space, extending as far as the installation’s WLAN can reach, both inside and outside the building. Sound is generated and modified in real time by visitors logging into the network with ordinary, wifi-enabled, mobile electronic devices (smartphones, iPods, tablets, laptops, etc). Devices joining the network become part of the network space as active nodes and resonant objects; each can be heard individually as its sound is played from a dome of speakers hanging from the ceiling of the gallery. The state of the system, from the point of view of each of its two computers, can also be listened to via two speakers located on the gallery floor – where the architectural plan of Jack Straw is marked out with tape – each at the respective spot of the computer it represents. Additionally, iPods and iPhones can be used as sound-making echolocation sonars after installing an application.

 

Technical Notes

The system is created with the SuperCollider real-time audio programming environment, various OSX command line networking tools, and RjDj (an iOS port of the Pure Data audio programming environment).

More information coming soon.

 

Some participation instructions

There are many different ways to engage with the piece; a few are written below, but you are invited to discover your own:

Without a connected device:
• When there are no devices connected, you can listen to the sound of the system itself, or that of other connected devices, if there are any.

With a connected device:
• A few seconds after you connect to the network you will hear the sound of your device, as well as a change in the sound of the two computers of the system.
• You can stand still to listen how the electromagnetic space changes while you remain in the same place.
• You can move inside the gallery, where you will always be closer to one side of the electromagnetic line-space.
• You can walk around in the hallway or the studios, actively changing your distance from the two computers, or even finding blind spots where one or the other computer cannot see you.
• You can turn off your wifi card or disconnect from the network, then reconnect to destabilize the system, and turn your sound on and off.

You can do the same things with a connected device running the custom software, but this time you be able to generate sounds with it as well. The custom software runs on an application called ‘RjDj’. You can download it for free on from the Apple Store; it is available for the iPhone and iPod Touch. There are 4 iPods that come preloaded with the custom software and which can be borrowed from the gallery staff. You can also load the software into your own iPhone or iPod touch. To do this simply connect to the installation’s network and go to the following web address with your browser and follow the instructions there: 192.168.1.100:8314

To run the software:
a) start RjDj;
b) tap on the large ‘Interactive’ icon on the lower left side of your screen;
c) tap on ‘The Network Is A Blind Space’ to load the custom software, then all you need is to leave the sound of your device on.

To join the installation’s WLAN:
Network name: |The_Network_Is_A_Blind_Space|
Password: jackstraw

Network troubleshooting on mobile devices:
Sometimes mobile devices have trouble connecting to networks. If you cannot hear your sound you may need to tell your mobile device to re-establish communication with the WLAN. There are two ways to do this:
a) browse or refresh a webpage with your browser;
b) (iPhone/iPod/iPad instructions – this would be similar for android phones): go to ‘Settings’, then tap on the network called |The_Network_Is_A_Blind_Space|, then scroll down and tap on ‘Renew Lease’;
c) in extreme cases, you may have to restart your mobile device  

 

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to Juan Pampin, James Coupe and Nicolás Varchausky for their input during the various research stages of the project, and to Mike McCrea for his help with installing the sound system in the gallery.
With support from the Center for Digital Arts and Experimental Media at the University of Washington (DXARTS).