INTERACTIVE INSTALLATION VINST VIRTUAL VOCAL INSTRUMENT

A PROPOSAL BY EMMANUELLE WAECKERLE
emanwaeck@aol.com
www.ewaeckerle.com

conceived and designed by Emmanuelle Waeckerle
programed in MAX/MSP and Jitter by Sebastian Lexer
project funded by an Arts Council London R&D bursary and Surrey Institute of Art and Design research fund.

ARTISTIC CONCEPT
VINST is a multimedia installation and interactive sound performance exploring the interplay between music language and the body – attempting to offer alternative modes of human interaction and communication – happening outside language and translation.

VINST is a virtual vocal instrument that uses the body image of the artist as a kind of cyborg displaying points of sonic sensitivity that are triggered and played by the viewer. The sounds are pre- or non-linguistic, and are somewhat anatomically appropriate: for example, low frequency sounds such as ‘UUUU’ or ‘OOOO’ resonate in the lower part of the body, and so are sited accordingly on the instrument. VINST non verbal vocabulary has its own system of an-notation. see VINSTVOC Passing the cursor or applying (wacom) pen pressure over the VINST body triggers a variety of sonic responses. Certain audio effects, such as reverb, volume control and granular synthesis can be also induced by pen movement and pressure. Users will find, however, that VINST is capable of reacting unexpectedly. see VINSTMAP

The programme offers three modes: PLAYER MODE, COMPOSER MODE (in which the viewercomposer can archive his or her compositions on VINST) and ARCHIVE MODE (in which those compositions can be accessed). I am currently developing VINSTVOC the system of annotation as a series of interactive sonic drawings for internet display/use (in Flash).