| Sofia Paraskeva's Rainbow Resonance Installation |
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| [Jun 15/16/17] Sofia Paraskeva's Rainbow Resonance Installation
Up at Harvestworks Tue/Wed June 15/16/17 from noon to 5pm, Sofia Paraskeva's Rainbow Resonance is a computer vision installation that generates colors and musical sounds of the equivalent sound frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum, according to the motion of the participator. The audience is encouraged to participate in a playful performance that engages the body to produce colorful images and sound resonances through simple movements. |
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RAINBOW RESONANCE
By Sofia Paraskeva
Tuesday & Wednesday, June 15 & 16, noon to 5pm
Harvestworks
596 Broadway, #602
New York, NY 10012
212-431-1130
Subway: F/V/D/B Broadway/Lafayette, R/W Prince, 6 Bleeker
Rainbow Resonance is a computer vision installation that generates colors and musical sounds of the equivalent sound frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum, according to the motion of the participator. The audience is encouraged to participate in a playful performance that engages the body to produce colorful images and sound resonances through simple movements. Anyone can potentially create a personal experience within the installation. The color scheme is based on the visible light spectrum and is also inspired by the chakras.
Colorscale
Light wavelengths are transposed 40 octaves below, into audible sound frequencies and mapped to an 8 tone musical scale based on a Pythagorean tuning system. The audible sound spectrum frequencies of several octaves were condensed in a single color spectrum octave. My intention was to use natural rhythms as a reference for resonances to represent colors such as the Earth's harmonic circumference at 7.49 Hz (479 Hz), and the Shumann Resonance at 7.83 (501 Hz), as well as bits and bytes. Te Pythagorean middle C was used as a basis for the musical mapping as it was divisible by 8 and concordant with the Earth’s harmonic circumference at 7.49 Hz (479 Hz), and Shumann Resonance at 7.83 (501 Hz) The resulting eight-tone scale corresponds to the “white keys” on the piano, and represents the eight predominant colors of the light spectrum.
RAINBOW RESONANCE
By Sofia Paraskeva
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, June 15/16/17, noon to 5pm
Harvestworks
596 Broadway, #602
New York, NY 10012
212-431-1130
Subway: F/V/D/B Broadway/Lafayette, R/W Prince, 6 Bleeker
Rainbow Resonance is a computer vision installation that generates colors and musical sounds of the equivalent sound frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum, according to the motion of the participator. The audience is encouraged to participate in a playful performance that engages the body to produce colorful images and sound resonances through simple movements. Anyone can potentially create a personal experience within the installation. The color scheme is based on the visible light spectrum and is also inspired by the chakras.
Colorscale
Light wavelengths are transposed 40 octaves below, into audible sound frequencies and mapped to an 8 tone musical scale based on a Pythagorean tuning system. The audible sound spectrum frequencies of several octaves were condensed in a single color spectrum octave. My intention was to use natural rhythms as a reference for resonances to represent colors such as the Earth's harmonic circumference at 7.49 Hz (479 Hz), and the Shumann Resonance at 7.83 (501 Hz), as well as bits and bytes. Te Pythagorean middle C was used as a basis for the musical mapping as it was divisible by 8 and concordant with the Earth’s harmonic circumference at 7.49 Hz (479 Hz), and Shumann Resonance at 7.83 (501 Hz) The resulting eight-tone scale corresponds to the “white keys” on the piano, and represents the eight predominant colors of the light spectrum.
 Caption: Rainbow Resonance at the New York Hall of Science, Oct 2009, Feb - April 2009
Technology
A video camera is used as a sensor to detect motion, and motion tracking is used to map the vertical and horizontal “zones” in the space. The “zone” with the most vivid motion determines the predominant sound generated by the participant. Movement along the vertical axis iterates through the color musical scale, while movement along the horizontal axis adds richness to the sounds with additional chords. An all encompassing composition of the frequencies occurs when the arms are extended upwards towards the sky.
Chi kung – A healing exercise
The movement is reminiscent of an exercise in chi kung, an ancient chinese method of healing and strengthening the body, mind and spirit, called “Carrying the Moon”. “Carrying the Moon” is an exercise that focuses on enhancing youthfulness by keeping the spine young." Carrying out the exercise daily enhances youthfulness and health at 60 and beyond and strengthens the kidneys, thus enhancing sexual vitality.
User experience
Rainbow resonance focuses on a human-centered experience that uses the body as the ultimate instrument of expression through dance, play and movement. It utilizes ambient intelligence technology (computer vision) to empower the participant by enabling them to playfully interact with a mirror image on a screen to produce sounds and visuals. Simple movements generate harmonic intervals and colors, while extending the arms towards the sky, a meditation exercise allows for the balancing of the energies of the body while sounding all the frequencies of the color scale in unison. This interactive experience can be modified to benefit children with disabilities, and can be used as an educational, recreational tool for movement through play and dance.
Background
The background for this project starts from an interest in mapping colors to sounds and vice versa, to examine the different emotional, mental or spiritual states they might evoke. I had always wanted to “hear the colors” and “see the sounds”, and wondered whether particular colors or sound frequencies actually depict specific emotions or thoughts. The idea of using the chakras as a color reference was inspired by a preoccupation to “see the invisible” by photographing people’s auras. Scientists are currently using SQUID (Superconducting Quantum Interference Device) instrument technology to map the ways diseases alter biomagnetic fields around the body.
 In Rainbow Resonance the chakra energy points are associated with specific colors as well as sounds and are mapped in the following manner.
1. Kundalini or base chakra, located at the sacrum of the spine, and associated with survival and life energy, the color RED, the note C, and the element of earth.
2. Sacral or navel chakra associated with the sexual organs and sexuality, the color ORANGE, the note D, and the element of water.
3. Solar plexus located in the stomach area, and associated with personal power, confidence and will, the color YELLOW, the note E, and the element of fire.
4. Heart chakra associated with unconditional love, self love and relationships, the color GREEN, the note F and the element of air.
5. Throat chakra, associated with voice, expression and communication, the color BLUE, the note G, and the element of ether and sound.
6. Brow or third-eye, located at the pineal gland, associated with perception, intuition and visualization, the color INDIGO, the note A and the element of light.
7. Crown chakra, located at the top of the head, and associated with the cerebral cortex, awareness, consciousness, spirituality, the color VIOLET, the note B, and the element of thought.
Inspiration
 The Pythagorean Tetractys
Rainbow Resonance is inspired by the ancient Pythagorean symbol of the Tetractys. The tetractys consists of the first four numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 which in their proportions reveal the primary intervals 1:2 (musical octave; geometrical proportion), 2:3 (musical fifth; arithmetic proportion), and 3:4 (musical fourth; harmonic proportion), upon which musical harmony is based. In ancient Greece the Tetractys was also a metaphysical symbol that embodies the principles of the natural world, the harmony of the cosmos, the ascent to the divine, and the mysteries of the divine realm. This sacred symbol informed color and music theories prevalent in ancient Greece. The first three dots represent the threefold White Light, the First Cause, containing all sound and color. The remaining seven dots represent the colors of the spectrum and the notes of the musical scale.
Sofia Paraskeva is a visual artist who experiments with interactive media, film and video. She explores sound and visuals in the context of leading edge technology, developing computer vision installations and interactive wearable performance instruments such as musical gloves, and bodysuits. Sofia has a background in visual art and design, and media communication. Her work spans across interactive art, filmmaking, video production, motion graphics, graphics, and web design.
Sofia graduated in May 2009 from the Interactive Telecommunications program at New York University, where she explored new ways of communication through art, science and technology. Her interactive project Rainbow Resonance, a computer vision musical installation, has been exhibited at the New York Hall of Science in October 2008 and February to April 2009. Sofia likes to explore emergent, multi-modal, scalable, interfaces that deploy ubiquitous computing to empower the participant/user by enabling them to interact with their environment in creative ways. She explores interactivity from the perspective of the audience, the performer and the artist/creator of the piece. Sofia is interested in the capacity of interactive art to involve the audience in time and space. She continues to explore meaningful ways of communication through the merging of image, sound and performance.
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