narcissus

It is springtime in New York.At 10 degrees Celsius, the evening frost has disappeared and the morning sparrows are singing.  Inside a room, a narcissus, amaryllis, oleander and Easter lily are performing a quartet.

The inner world of plants contains a vast microcosm of information, but how do humans perceive it? Studies on the electrophysiology of plants date back to over 200 years, but there is little investigation today concerning plant and human interaction in the context of sound and new media.

Using digital technologies, this sound-piece examines the inner universe of plants and investigates the role of plant and human interaction as expressed in music.

Inside/Outside
Plants, like humans are living organisms and are influenced by their outside environment. In this piece, four plants, when subjected to increasing levels of moisture, will react their immediate surroundings by triggering sound. The result is a a floral orchestra or sonic dialogue between outside and inside, microcosm and macrocosm and invisible/tangible.

Implementation

Each of the four planters contains a sensor which consists of two metallic probes. The oleander, (the largest plant) contains 2 sets of probes. The probes are inserted into the soil to detect the soil moisture level.

Each probe is made of galvanized steel, a conductive material, and is wired to a microcontroller using jumper cable. As the moisture level of the soil rises, digital output is sent via the MIDI protocol to a laptop computer.

Conclusion/Critique
To conclude, the "floral orchestra" is a sound piece sensitive to outside conditions. Combining new media technologies with plants may expand our conceptions of nature and the environment and question how we live with nature.

The simple use of materials makes it easy to install a can be performed in various settings: i.e., home, garden, or office.

In retrospect, parameters such as volume, delay, and filter were very limited. Increasing more parameters would render the composition more dynamic. To do this, I would add more sensing units such as temperature, or light sensors and map them to trigger more sound functions.

In addition, I would write a script so that the plants behave in the reverse logic: that is, to sing when the plants are in need of water. This could have practical applications: for example, alert people musically when they forget to water their plants.

Documentation: A video can be viewed online at:
http://www.lightwonder.net/z/plantquartet.mp4

Photos can be viewed at:
http://www.lightwonder.net/z/plant/plant.html