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.
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 which are influenced by their
outside environment. In this piece, four plants, when subjected to
increasing levels of moisture, will generate musical notes resulting
in a "sonic -botany."
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.
The simple use of materials makes it easy to install a can be performed
in various settings: i.e., home, garden, or office.
