音樂樓梯，藝術(shù)與人文系館，德克薩斯州，美國

設(shè)計：杰夫·莫里斯，奧特姆·凱西Designers: Je ff Morris, Autum Casey

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音樂樓梯，藝術(shù)與人文系館，德克薩斯州，美國

設(shè)計：杰夫·莫里斯，奧特姆·凱西
Designers: Je ff Morris, Autum Casey

Sonic Glimpses, Arts and Humanities Building, Texas, USA, 2013

音樂樓梯是為慶祝5層高的藝術(shù)與人文系館的落成而設(shè)計的交互藝術(shù)裝置。這件獨特的藝術(shù)品位于德州大學(xué)城德克薩斯州A＆M大學(xué)主校區(qū)赫赫有名的建筑學(xué)四方院中。德克薩斯州A＆M大學(xué)是一級博士研究大學(xué)，也是美國精英大學(xué)協(xié)會成員。系館由布朗·雷諾茲·沃特福德建筑事務(wù)所設(shè)計，并榮獲《綠色建筑評估體系》（LEED）銀獎。開幕盛會于2013年4月19日舉行，裝置一直展出到2013年7月15日。

這個藝術(shù)裝置的設(shè)計意圖是讓人在這座充滿研究與創(chuàng)作的建筑中，在大樓梯上享受一場音樂旅行。一旦踏上樓梯，樂曲就會在人的身邊奏起。這些樂曲來自系館師生自己的創(chuàng)作或研究。表演研究系的學(xué)生負責(zé)錄曲，進行人聲配曲，安裝硬件，協(xié)助調(diào)試軟件，并制作視頻記錄。它的創(chuàng)作者杰夫·莫里斯、奧特姆·凱西，與系館學(xué)監(jiān)、環(huán)境健康與安全學(xué)院、視聽監(jiān)測技術(shù)委員會合作，試圖保證裝置滿足所有利益相關(guān)者的要求。

這個裝置的中心是一個內(nèi)置蘋果Mac Mini計算機的固定支架，并裝有多頻道音頻接口、擴音器以及安裝在支架上的鍵盤、觸控板和顯示器。計算機運行的是由杰夫·莫里斯在Max圖像編程環(huán)境（Cycling74）中編寫的軟件程序。支架與兩個模擬視頻攝像頭相連，以控制信號輸入（與支架內(nèi)的數(shù)碼轉(zhuǎn)換系統(tǒng)相連），另有6個錐形喇叭用于音頻輸出。

考慮到美觀因素和環(huán)境健康與安全負責(zé)人的要求，特別是這個大樓梯是系館大部分用戶的主要緊急疏散路線，我們努力將硬件的影響降至最小。最主要的是，我們只用了頂部兩個攝像頭來捕捉動態(tài)，而沒在樓梯上安裝傳感器，比如壓力傳感器、紅外絆網(wǎng)，以及紅外或超聲波近距離傳感器。

攝像頭比這類固定傳感器提供的數(shù)據(jù)要多得多。這就為控制數(shù)據(jù)帶來了復(fù)雜的變化，使裝置上反應(yīng)的藝術(shù)形象具有人性情感的多變特征。這個軟件通過攝像頭以幀間差分捕捉動態(tài)：先計算每一幀與下一幀之間每個像素的絕對差分，再用每個像素的絕對差分總和得出與動態(tài)相應(yīng)的單一數(shù)字。因為樓梯側(cè)邊是自然采光的開窗墻面，陽光和天氣都會影響藝術(shù)形象隨時間的變化，對于每種不同顏色也是如此。另外，人們的衣著、皮膚、發(fā)色等方面的對比與造型，以及他們移動的方式都會創(chuàng)造出獨一無二的音樂?！酰ㄉ袝x 譯）

1裝置技術(shù)圖示，頂視圖與側(cè)視圖。紅色方塊為揚聲器，綠色圓圈為樓梯的垂直欄桿，黃線為從設(shè)備架到每個揚聲器的音響線路，藍線為主電纜布線，兩個攝像機標記為紫色。/Technical diagram of the installation, top and side view. Red boxes represent speakers; green circles represent vertical supports in the staircase; yellow lines represent audio cable paths from the equipment rack to each speaker; the blue line represents the mains power cable path; two cameras are shown in purple.

項目信息/Credits and Data

素材提供/Content Contributors: Jayson Beaster-Jones, Michael Collins, Jeffrey Davis ,Rayna Dexter, Mariana Gariazzo, Amy Guerin; 世界文化音樂課/Music in World Cultures Class: Emily McManus; 服裝店學(xué)生員工/Costume Shop Student Workers: Rayna Dexter, Britt Mize, Rohan Sinha, Nancy Warren, Jennifer Wollock, Jaeeun Yi

素材記錄/Content Recording: Casey Gilbert, Katharine Hinson, Priscilla Lopez, Marco Pisterzi, Trent Tate

安裝/Installation: 跨媒體表演課/Intermedia Performance Class: Jeff Morris; 設(shè)計師新技術(shù)課/New Technology for Designers Class: Autum Casey

攝影/Photos: Je ff Morris, Autum Casey

Sonic Glimpses is a site specific interactive art installation to celebrate the grand opening of the five-story Liberal Arts: Arts and Humanities building on the prestigious Architecture Quad on the main campus of Texas A＆M University in College Station, Texas. Texas A＆M University is a Tier One doctoral research university and member of the elite American Association of Universities. The building was designed by Brown Reynolds Watford Architects to meet the criteria of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design （LEED） silver rating. The opening gala was held on April 19, 2013, and the installation remained on display through July 15, 2013.

The art installation was designed to turn a trip up the grand staircase into an audio tour of the research and creative work being done in the building. Sound clips are triggered by traffic on the staircase, sounding near the location of each passerby. Faculty and students in the building contributed clips of their own creative work or the literature they study. Students in the Department of Performance Studies recorded the sound clips, performed some of the voice-acting work, installed the hardware, assisted in calibrating the software settings, and created the video documentation of the project. Creators Je ff Morris and Autum Casey worked with the building proctor, Environmental Health and Safety department, and the Audiovisual Surveillance Technology committee to ensure the installation satis fi ed concerns of all stakeholders.

The heart of the installation is a secure rack with Apple Mac Mini computer inside, along with multichannel audio interface, amplifier, and rackmounted keyboard, trackpad, and video display. The computer runs a custom software program created by Jeff Morris in the Max graphic programming environment （by Cycling74）. The rack is connected to two analog video cameras for control input （connected to digitizers inside the rack） and six bare speaker cones for audio output.

For aesthetic reasons and also to satisfy Environmental Health and Safety o ffi cials, especially since the grand staircase is the primary emergency exit route for most building occupants, we took efforts to keep the hardware minimally invasive. Most notably, we used only two video cameras for motion detection, mounted overhead, instead of sensors mounted on the stairs, such as pressure sensors, infrared tripwires, or infrared or ultrasonic proximity sensors.

The cameras provide vastly more data than such local sensors. This allowed for complex variations in the control data, resulting in the appearance that the artwork responds with a human-like whimsical character, with varying moods. The software turns cameras into motion detectors through frame differencing: calculating the absolute difference between each frame and the next, pixel by pixel, and summing the absolute difference of each pixel to yield a single number corresponding to motion. Since the staircase runs along a large windowed wall, natural light, changing throughout the day and affected by weather, influenced the artwork's responsiveness over time, and differently so for each color. Further, each of the color contrasts and patterns of visitors' clothing, skin, and hair and the ways in which they move each triggers the sounds in unique ways. □

2兩個學(xué)生走上樓梯，分散的設(shè)計使整個裝置幾乎不可見，但周圍滿是聲音。/Two students climb the grand staircase. Discrete design kept the installation almost invisible, but full with sound.

3安裝在樓梯垂直欄桿上的6個揚聲器之一，位于扶手下方，盡可能在隱蔽的同時達到在這一區(qū)域的最佳播放音效。/One of six speaker cones mounted to the staircase vertical supports, below the handrail to minimize visibility and optimize re fl ected sound fi lling the area.

樓梯建造計劃-過程紅色：保持進度的關(guān)鍵□將設(shè)備、工具和材料運到樓梯底部下方區(qū)域?！跤肞ython線固定安裝支架。為連接面板和鍵盤/屏幕留出空間?！趵鲭娫囱娱L線。□在樓梯頂部和底部的扶手貼上“敬請期待！”標志?！鯓顺隼鹊奈恢谩！踅o修補板和攝像頭凸緣安上擋風(fēng)雨條?！鯇㈦娋€軸安到安裝支架上。從上方拉電線時找人幫忙松開線軸。□將攝像頭變壓器插入支架中的功率調(diào)節(jié)器。用厚膠布固定插頭。將電線從支架側(cè)窗中穿出?！鯇蓷l分叉線連接到攝像頭電源變壓器上，再用一層黑色厚膠布包住——折起一角方便揭除。□將每個視頻轉(zhuǎn)換器插入支架上的Mac Mini背后的USB接口，將設(shè)備留在支架側(cè)窗外。用厚膠布把它們固定在計算機旁邊的平面上。□準備安裝喇叭?！　鯗蕚浒惭b喇叭。□用膠帶固定電源線轉(zhuǎn)角?！　鯇⒗染€從線軸上拉到最遠處。請莫里斯（Morris）博士確定第一條電線以及喇叭線在樓梯內(nèi)緣的位置?！跤媚z帶固定喇叭線各轉(zhuǎn)角?！醢惭b喇叭?！　醢惭b喇叭。將攝像頭電線穿過安裝架，以減少拉力?！醢惭b電線保護套?！跤媚z帶固定電線保護器?！　趿舫黾s1.83m富余，然后剪斷喇叭線。□用膠帶粘住電線從地板下的插座到保護器（不是墻面?。┍┞兜膮^(qū)域?！踉陔娋€的支架端離頭3英寸處做標記，從最遠處的喇叭“1”開始?！踉谄溆嗟睦壬现貜?fù)?！　鯇㈦娋€的喇叭端剝除1/4英寸，將斷頭處卷起，連上各喇叭。別丟垃圾！□將電線的支架端剝除3/4英寸，用螺絲擰上香蕉插頭。別丟垃圾！□取一條攝像頭延長線。在攝像頭的垂線中系一個松的反手結(jié)（減少拉力）。檢查延長線的哪一頭與垂線相連，然后在延長線此頭系一個松的反手結(jié)，穿過垂線形成的圈。連接垂線和延長線。在另一個攝像頭上重復(fù)?！跣⌒牡貙⒏挥嗟碾娋€送到下方樓梯——找人在放線時幫忙收集并盤起電線。在另一條線上重復(fù)?！跽埬锼共┦吭O(shè)計通向支架的線路，在每個轉(zhuǎn)角拉緊電線，并固定每個轉(zhuǎn)角。然后用膠帶蓋住電線暴露的所有區(qū)域。將富余的線整潔地盤在支架開的側(cè)窗邊?！鯇⒚總€攝像頭線（黃色/銀色連接器）連到視頻轉(zhuǎn)換器的黃色輸入口。用厚膠布將其固定。□用黑色厚膠布固定電線。將電線的喇叭端卷到喇叭背后（減少拉力），然后沿立桿向下進入踏步凹槽，再向下?！鯇㈦娋€穿過側(cè)面的小洞口，從連接面板下穿出，再按照其標記相應(yīng)插入。清理：□將所有電線、未使用的膠帶、包裝等投入垃圾箱?！踉谡麄€區(qū)域內(nèi)檢查所有部位都已安裝牢固，電線整潔，線路清晰?！醢鹚形词褂玫脑O(shè)備、工具和材料，將其帶上樓入庫?！踺p輕將視頻轉(zhuǎn)換器和所有富余電線放入支架側(cè)窗。測試：□對每個喇叭進行聲音測試?！鯇γ總€攝像頭進行視頻測試，并大致對準攝像頭。拍攝原型圖像?！蹶P(guān)閉所有設(shè)備電源，合上外蓋，用掛鎖固定搭扣。

4定制軟件創(chuàng)建的最大化圖形編程環(huán)境。攝像機的動態(tài)反饋（右）捕捉整個樓梯上的運動。視頻反饋分為6個區(qū)域（顯示為上圖與下圖中的紅、綠、藍四邊形）引導(dǎo)運動觸發(fā)最近的揚聲器發(fā)聲/Custom software created with the Max graphic programming environment. Live feeds from the cameras （right） capture motion on the entire staircase. Video feeds are divided into six zones （shown as red, green, and blue quadrangles in the top and bottom images） causing motion to trigger sound in the nearest speaker

評論

邁克爾·貝內(nèi)迪克特：人們通過系館時會進入人耳難以察覺的聲音的海洋，感受著模糊的腳步聲、遙遠的對話、巨響、機器的嗡嗡聲、水流的汩汩聲、回聲以及被認為是音樂的聲音。假如在建筑結(jié)構(gòu)和活動區(qū)域裝上聲波感應(yīng)裝置，來對建筑內(nèi)人們的所思所為一探究竟，又會發(fā)現(xiàn)什么呢？2011年，杰夫·莫里斯和奧特姆·凱西在約翰遜總統(tǒng)圖書館中完成了一個裝置，他們用一段名為“展現(xiàn)研究”的樂曲，將莊嚴而近乎陵墓的研究型圖書館變?yōu)槌錆M聲音、影像和表演的日常空間：假如我們能聽見或看到人們在進行怎樣的研究，會如何呢？音樂樓梯指向了一個更為謙遜的設(shè)計目標：上下樓梯的常規(guī)性。這些樓梯知曉你在不同時間的每一次上上下下，無論今夕還是明日。（天妮 譯）

鮑威：這個作品沒有具體的視覺形式來支撐，只是將實現(xiàn)的場景定義在一段樓梯上的聽覺作品而已。這個小項目沒有詩意美好的故事性，主題反而是日?，嵥榈钠?，如人們在樓梯上移動的速度、所穿衣服的顏色等。當(dāng)然和大多數(shù)互動藝術(shù)一樣，其實現(xiàn)需要將這些輸入主題轉(zhuǎn)換為相對應(yīng)的輸出主題，即聲音的各種屬性。在樓梯上運動的人們被迫去“演奏”這個新的樂器，但一個人隨便去撥動琴弦與經(jīng)過多年訓(xùn)練后的演奏其實截然不同。后者稱為“藝術(shù)”，而前者只能稱為“運動”，如同在鋼琴上走動而發(fā)出聲音的貓咪。

Comments

Michael Benedikt: People move through buildings in a sea of sound that means very little to them, a miasma of foot-falls, distant conversations, bangs, machine hums, burbles, echoes, and what passes for music. What if the structure of the building and the activities of a building had a sonic counterpart, underlining what was being thought and done in the building？ At the LBJ Library in 2011, Je ff rey Morriss and Autumn Casey, in a piece called Research Embodied, brought an august, almost tomb-like research library to life in sound, video, and performance: what if we could hear and see what people were researching？ Sonic Glimpses points at a more modest target: the routine of climbing a staircase. Here is a staircase that knows you are on it differently each time, up and down, today and tomorrow.

BAO Wei: Being a pure audio exercise, this project is realized in a space that involves a staircase, without any substantial visual expression. Devoid of poetic narratives, it focuses on trivialities such as the pace of human movement and the color they are wearing. As with the case of most interactive arts, it feeds on these inputs in order to transform them into corresponding outputs, i.e. various sound attributes. People moving up and down the stairs are compelled to "play" this new instrument, though there is a clear distinction between someone's random plucking of the strings and a virtuoso's performance with many years of practice. The latter is deemed as art while the former is just movement, like that of a cat walking on the piano.