Schattenorchester 1 by Peter Vogel

SCHATTENORCHESTER I, 1989, Chance and Necessity.

Interactive mechanical-electronic sound installation, variable dimensions, instrument set-up 4 meters wide, projection surface
8 meters, 12 instruments, control desk with 10 photocells
(reacting to shadows), projection lamp, amplifier, 2 loudspeakers.

The shadow orchestras are interactive sound installations,
each consisting of an ensemble of electronically operated mechanical instruments: strings are rubbed or struck and drums are played on wooden, metal and plastic bodies.
The individual instruments can be played on a control panel using a number of photocells. Each shadow impulse triggers a specific rhythmic or tonal pattern in the selected instrument via electronics, which can be varied by further shadow impulses. The ensemble of instruments is projected onto a wall as an enlarged silhouette.
The instruments equipped with pickups are amplified and played back via two loudspeakers.
The sound and rhythm structures range from free to repetitive.
This interactive sound installation moves in the border area between visual art and music, a fusion of spatial art and time art. It is both a sculpture and a variable composition.
The viewer can improvise or compose with the variable tonal and rhythmic material provided. These sounds and rhythms are the unfinished half of a composition that is completed by the viewer/player.

Bernhard Serexhe

For over four decades, pioneering sound artist Peter Vogel has been making electronic audio sculptures and staging performances that respond and encourage viewers to discover patterns through repeated interaction.

petervogel-heritage.de