It’s summer down under, but it’s still almost Christmas. In Sydney, Australia seasonal cheer is in full swing with the help of the Infinite Choir at the Pitt Street Mall. The "choir"--which consists of 16 light sculptures strategically placed on both sides of an outdoor walkway-- reacts to human presence, movement, and touch with atmospheric choral sounds and displays of colored light that shine 24/7.
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Conducting the Infinite Choir, interactive public event, Pitt Street Mall,Sydney, New South Wales, December 2013 from Darren WoolleyEach structure contains an ultrasonic proximity sensor, which, when activated, triggers real-time aural response, broadcast from a directional speaker--visible as the friendly-looking black circle on each glossy installment, often representing the head of the abstract body. As part of the installation, every "voice" is unique in amplitude and frequency, and in turn sets off a combination of high-concentration RGB LED visuals, making for a continuous marriage of sound and light as varied and nuanced as the participants’ movements.
The intensity of complementarily arranged voice and light emissions grow in proportion to activity, encouraging passersby to inspire the fullest song and brightest lights that they can from the display. Even the most passive strollers bring out delicate strains of male and female voices from the benevolent plastic totems.According to a member of the Findery network, the speakers do not spout out hackneyed carols, but emit a “beautiful non-specific choral sound” in human voice.
The installment is a public gift from the design savvy City of Sydney, unanimously approved in July as Item 6.14 in a three year vision for Christmas in the City--which is a greater part of the goals and targets for Sustainable Sydney 2030; a long range plan to maintain leadership as a globally competitive, innovative, cultural, and creative city. The project tender was contracted to ENESS Pty Ltd (whom we previously covered earlier this fall) and winning bidder Iris Sydney (of creative agency Iris Worldwide)--who worked with the city’s Christmas Creative Consultant (a real thing!) to conceptualize the choir by October and began installation on November 25th (official launch November 28th).
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The choir will remain in place until Christmas Day, but its effects are hoped to last long after dismantlement in the form of good cheer and overall Sydney pride.Below, check out a few shots from the installation process:
Is your city doing something special with art and tech for the holidays? Drop us a line in the comments section.
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The installment is a public gift from the design savvy City of Sydney, unanimously approved in July as Item 6.14 in a three year vision for Christmas in the City--which is a greater part of the goals and targets for Sustainable Sydney 2030; a long range plan to maintain leadership as a globally competitive, innovative, cultural, and creative city. The project tender was contracted to ENESS Pty Ltd (whom we previously covered earlier this fall) and winning bidder Iris Sydney (of creative agency Iris Worldwide)--who worked with the city’s Christmas Creative Consultant (a real thing!) to conceptualize the choir by October and began installation on November 25th (official launch November 28th).The choir will remain in place until Christmas Day, but its effects are hoped to last long after dismantlement in the form of good cheer and overall Sydney pride.Below, check out a few shots from the installation process:
