Current Exhibition
April 27 – June 8 2013
Kyle Whitehead (AB) Circles of Confusion
Opening & Artist Talk April 27, 7pm
Circles of Confusion is a generative image and sound based expanded cinema installation and performative work composed of dual Super 8 film-loop projections each coupled with a mirrored pair of optically-controlled sine-wave oscillators. Built to function like a Theremin, one of the earliest analog electronic synthesizers, these scratch built oscillator circuits are controlled by light-dependent sensors that modulate audible pitch and volume. As film-loops are projected the sound is simultaneously generated in real-time by reflected light and these four Optical-Theremins propagate a cacophony of sinewave tones that are directly proportional to the intensity of the projected images – hand processed Super 8 film-loops that are matched but not mirrored pairs. The reactionary nature of the relationship between image and sound in this work becomes self-evident to the viewer within moments as the soundscape shifts dramatically from slow, rumbling drones when projected images are darkest, to higher-pitched vibrations when they are brightest. These generative and reciprocating conditions of Circles of Confusion create a hyper-awareness of the boundaries that exist between two distinct processes of sensory perception and blur the conventional divisions between them by suggesting that they are at once complementary and transmutable.
Kyle Whitehead is a multidisciplinary artist working primarily with small-format cinema, alternative photographic process and lo-fi electronics. He prefers a careful and considered approach to image making; which should not be confused with best practices, as his work is more about embracing the potential of an indeterminate process. What he wants is the definitive by chance - leveraging lo-fi or DIY technologies often with unusual or startling effect. Kyle holds a BFA from the Alberta College of Art and Design and currently resides in Calgary where he spends most of his time in the dark.
Check out the Facebook event
Photos courtesy of the artist
Luminovox Workshop with Kyle Whitehead, April 28, 1pm $16
This one-day workshop will be a crash course on constructing simple RC electronic circuits.
Using a simple 555 timer chip, one of the most basic integrated circuits, participants will each get to build and take home a simple light-controlled square wave oscillator.
This circuit, which I have named the Luminovox, was an early prototype for the Optical-Theremins used in my installation Circles of Confusion.
Using light dependent resistors to modulate pitch and volume, the circuit generates audible square wave tones that are proportional to the intensity of light striking the resistors.
The 555 timer chip is one of the most versatile ICs, and can be used for dozens of simple circuit applications, it is also a great introduction to electronic circuits for those with no prior experience.
April 28th 1pm at Eastern Edge Gallery
$16 for materials
sign up easternedgegallery@gmail.com
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