Flamenco and Me

Written by viola on 二月 26th, 2008

Last Thursday, there was a studio opening of the Digital Art department of Pratt in Dumbo. Mrs. Walentas the studio’s donator, asked me why I chose flamenco in my thesis. I answered her with a lot of reasons. In the end, she looked at her husband ,Mr. David Walentas, and said “she is so serious. She is cute isn’t she?”
Why flamenco? This is a really good question.
I start to get involved in flamenco in 2003. One day, a very good friend of mine asked me to go to flamenco class with her. I was attracted by the name of the dance so I went to the class with no hesitation. We fell in love with the dance very soon. Especially when we had chances to perform in public, we were like sparrows that eagerly transform themselves to canaries.
After I came to America, I felt that I should concentrate on my studies. I forget Flamenco but I still missed it a lot. Last summer, I felt that I was ready to handle both things. I went to Fazil studio and start to learn flamenco with Viola.In fact, the new learning experiences excite me. In my first class, Viola taught me clapping hands, At the time, I was wondering why we needed to practice the rhythm. After a while, I notice that the hand clapping and foot stamping skills are two main important basics of flamenco. They help the dancers to seize time. A good flamenco dancer also should be a good clapper. When they are dancing, their bodies become danceable metronomes. They create various loud sounds and pose in powerfully expressive postures to touch the audience.
That is why I chose flamenco. I would like to augment its beauty with technology.
Dance with Viola Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Building Installation I

Written by viola on 二月 20th, 2008

Step 1: I finally have a studio space!! (I love PRATT!)

Step 2: Painting drywall tracks and studs.

Step 3: Building a hanging ceiling system.

Step 4: Marking the Floor.

Step 5: Hanging my flower-like sculptures.

Step 6: My favorite part… Designing my chair cover = simple = easy = pretty.

Special Thanks:

Peter Patchen, Maowei, and, Joe Herzfeld

Arduino and MaxMsp’s Serial Communication

Written by viola on 二月 19th, 2008

*Reading Arduino’s Serial.print(data) in MaxMsp

Example:

In Arduino, we can turn on the serial monitor to print out the values. However, how can we keep monitoring the values in MaxMsp? J Let’s try.

Arduino:

Set the value and use the function Serial.print();

Serial.print(” “); //This will create a space between each  value.

Serial.printl(); //This start a new line for vales.

MaxMsp:

Using “metro” object to start printing the values.

Using “serial” object to read and receive data from serial port.

Using “itoa” object to translate the integer to ASCII characters?

Using “print” object to get the same monitor effect as Arduino

What’s the difference between Arduino’s Serial Monitor and Max?

1. In Arduino, the value ,168, is printed on one line. In Max, each character is printed on a line so 168 prints on three    line.

2. In Max, Serial.print(” “); is printed as a empty line.

For example:

aread:

3. In Max, Serial.printl(); is printed as two empty lines.

For example:

aread:

aread:

Thoughts:

The above example helps me to know what the serial port is reading when I use MaxMsp to give my Arduino port some information.

Thanks Liubo

Resonant Wave

Written by viola on 二月 13th, 2008

Resonant Wave is an interactive artwork which combines a ceiling installation and an experimental flamenco performance. It attempts to represent the invisible movement of air and the indistinguishable vibrations of sound with the interaction between the dancer and the installation. The form of the installation is inspired by the shape of a wave and a sweeping shawl. It consists of thirty individual pieces. Each piece includes LEDs and a geared motor. In the beginning, the installation is motionless and dark. According to the dancer’s positions, each piece will rotate. Also, according to her location, if she does some hand clapping and foot stamping, some groups LEDs will light up. The dancer’s performance will gradually lead the audience to observe the various interactions between the space, dancer, airflow and sound. <