Exp.Inst.Moon is a combination of musical instrument, technology, and art. As an interactive art installation, users touch electronic sensors that relay signals through the electronic components to an Arduino microcontroller that converts the input into projections of sound and light. It’s an example of how technology can transform someone from merely viewing art into becoming part of the art itself.
The look of Exp.Inst.Moon is reminiscent of futuristic alien crystal technology like those found in Superman’s fortress of solitude. Less exotic than alien hardware but no less spectacular are the sleek, clear controls shaped in rectangular prisms made of plexiglass housed in a wireless wooden box. Exp.Inst. Moon is currently on display at the Balam Soto Studio in Hartford, Connecticut.
The piece explores the emerging global understanding of how to use touch interfaces. As a user interface, touch transcends cultures, requiring no language and limited social understanding. It demonstrates how the way we interact with everyday high tech devices is becoming universally intuitive and hints at the powerful changes that await us in music, technology, and art.
The genius for this fusion of art and science stems from internationally recognized Balam Soto, an artist, Maker, software designer and co-owner of the Open Wire Lab or O.W.L. In addition to creating art for his studio, Balam has exhibited his unique style of hybrid technological media art in art venues worldwide, at the World Maker Faire at the New York Hall of Science Museum in Queens and throughout Central and South America West Africa and Europe.
The beauty of Balam’s Exp.Inst.Moon is the fusion of technology and art. It’s a piece where a new kind of musical instrument merges with digital graphic projection. With a simple touch you can blend sound and light in real time, allowing anyone who uses this to immediately experience the creative joy of making music and art simultaneously.
Artist Balam Soto and much more can be found at Westport Maker Faire. Go to their site to find out more about when you can attend!
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