Sounding Space was a hit! Thanks to all the people who made this possible, including the non-stop stream of people who participated all night long!
watch the video! Turn on your sound!
Baby Steps at iNiT 2009
To prepare for Sounding Space, we created Baby Steps for iNiT 2009, an "audio visual performance dance art party". Baby Steps was the baby version we made for testing ideas we had for Sounding Space. You gotta walk before you can run!
Everyone had a great time playing with Baby Steps, Watch the video!
Last year we created Sidewalk Piano
Sounding Space has its roots in our Sidewalk Piano project.
mixMotion transformed a sidewalk into a playable piano during the summer of 2008 during Pedestrian Sunday in the Kensington Market. Sounding Space will expand on this concept and turn Scotia Plaza into a massive 3500sq ft. musical instrument!
Check out the video of the precursor to Sounding Space!
Sounding Space's little brother, Sidewalk Piano - *Hotshot, Pedestrian Sunday - May 25, 2008
Some Inspiration for Sounding Space
Remember the classic piano scene in the movie Big? Lead actor Tom Hanks plays a child trapped in an adults body. This unforgettable scene captures the spirit and playful experience that inspired Sounding Space.
Inventor Remo Saraceni's giant, walk-on piano, made famous in the movie Big when Tom Hanks and Robert Loggia dance on it in FAO Schwartz
What is it?
Sounding Space, an art installation by artists Karlen Chang, Dafydd Hughes and David Mccallum, will transform the north courtyard entrance of Scotia Plaza into an extraordinary, interactive and collaborative musical instrument for Nuit Blanche. Visitors touch, jump and play with tiles, benches and planters to create music. Covering 3500 square feet, Sounding Space will encourage you to explore, transforming the space from a place of serious financial business into a musical playground. A space where you can become the audience, the participant and the performer.
“The attraction of Nuit Blanche is not just discovering new art, it satisfies our deep thirst for new ways to interact with each other. We’re social animals, online, at parties and on our streets. Instead of just being a passive audience we want new social interactions that create meaningful experiences. Sounding Space allows you to explore new social interactions in a fun and playful way ” exclaims Karlen Chang.
Karlen Chang, the lead artist in Sounding Space, is the principal designer for mixMotion. After countless VJ performances at parties, concerts and events since 2001, Chang realized that the heart of a successful event was the quality of the social experience. “The design of an event, a street corner or a social media website is vitally important. The amount of encouragement and opportunity to walk, sit, talk, dance and play strongly influences how we behave and interact with each other.”
As part of Nuit Blanche 2009, Sounding Space is one of the five Open Call projects chosen for Zone B in the financial district. This project was chosen by the curators Jim Drobnick and Jennifer Fisher of DisplayCult for the theme of NIGHTSENSE.
When and Where?
October 3, 2009 from 7pm to sunrise, Sounding Space will be running as part of Nuit Blanche.
Scotia Plaza, 40 King Street West (North Forecourt enter from Adelaide Street West doors).
