FABRICA: CYLINDER SOUND INCARNATE

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a cura di Abcveneto

Fabrica, then Benetton Group communication research center, presents at the Fabrica Features space in Lisbon the project “Cylinder”, a series of tri-dimensional shapes translated from sound, resulting from an experimentation between interactive design and music.

The project, conceived by Drew Allan and Andy Huntington, a designer and a musician working together at Fabrica, grew, as they say, “from a desire to represent the complexity of today’s world in a designed object..”

Cylinder is, to put it simply, a ‘sound’ to ‘object’ translator. These “translations” on show at Saint Etienne go from the varied sound shape of the market in Treviso (where Fabrica is based) to the multi-layered form of the voice of Martin Luther King to the faceted image of a simple breath.
By delegating the task of detail creation to circumstance, i.e. to an interpretation of sound at a particular moment in time, Cylinder allows the production of a curious level of complexity combined with structural abstraction.

Digital “snapshots” of the sound are taken and divided into frequency bands, which are represented in 360 degrees. These snapshots are stacked one atop the other to create a virtual tri-dimensional object which is then actualized in the real world using rapid prototype technology. The resulting object is a permanent and tangible interpretation of the original sound; a static expression of the richness and detail inherent in even the simplest of sounds.

Drew Allan

Drew Allan from Montreal, Canada, studied Pure and Applied Science at Dawson College in Montreal and Furniture Design and Construction at Sheridan College in Toronto, Canada. He quickly tired of the empty, neo-modernist style so prevalent these days and he looked to develop something a bit richer. His efforts gained him a bit of fame as a designer in Canada and then he was invited to work for a year in Fabrica's Design Department in Treviso, Italy.

During his residency at Fabrica, Drew worked on numerous projects including the design of the analog interactive stage centerpiece for Makigami’s "Paradise from Vocal Box", toys and blocks for Magis and glass jewelry for Venini. In Italy he spent a lot of time reading about complexity theory and generative properties, which got warped and watered down in his mind into a system of designing. His faith now lies in computers and also lace which he thinks doesn't always have to be so symmetrical and orderly.

Andy Huntington

Andy Huntington is from Newcastle Upon Tyne (UK). After graduating in music in 2001, he worked as a composer and sound designer for interactive media company Romandson. Becoming more interested in the general area of interaction design he joined the Fabrica Interactive Department where he developed performance software, games and installations. Exhibitions include DARE, a four month long collaborative digital video and animation at the American Museum of the Moving Image (New York, 2003). He is currently studying Interaction Design at the Royal College of Art in London and is part of Sparks, a London based interdisciplinary art and design partnership. His interest in sound and music continues to drive his work whether developing tools or toys. He likes the fact that computers can create behaviour he didn't intend or imagine.

Fabrica Features

Fabrica Features is a network of cultural and commercial spaces - the first of which are already open in Lisbon, Bologna, Grado, Mantova, Modena and Hong Kong - where one-person shows, artist exhibits, concerts, video projections, live performances, workshops and lectures become key opportunities for gathering together. Within Fabrica Features there is also room for different cultural “products” which define modern life: cds, books, videos, design objects and clothes created by Fabrica or selected across the world. These objects become a real gallery of modern art, which is no longer just an object to look at, but a concrete product that is both useful and accessible to visitors.

FABRICA FEATURES LISBOA Rua Garrett, 83 4°piso, 1200-203 Lisbon Tel: +351 21 3256765
e-mail: fabrica_features@clix.pt

a cura di Abcveneto