SoundBlocks

SoundBlocks

SoundBlocks is a tangible environment where young users connect blocks to describe network dataflow. The environment explores digital sound manipulation as a personal, meaningful and fun artistic endeavor, rather than as a venture into mathematical, electronic or networking relationships.

Lead by their own curiosity, children can design their own sounds by exploring SoundBlocks. In doing so, they will indirectly learn about networks, mathematics and hardware synthesizers and sequencers. The environment will shift the child’s focus from the product of creation to the process of creation.

SoundBlocks was part of my Master’s Thesis at MIT’s Media Laboratory. I built SoundBlocks collaborating with colleague Andrew McPherson.

Similar Posts

  • Touch #1

    In 2012 I created my first interactive touch wall: Touch #1. The work built on my experience creating the visuals for Still Life and was largely inspired by seeing autistic children experiencing pure joy while interacting in an immersive environment. Touch #1 received a great response and was later installed at Exploration Place and at…

  • Still Life

    In 2011, as part of Hack.Art.Lab, I collaborated with composer Mary Ellen Childs and percussionist Michael Holland to create live animation triggered by live performance of Mary Ellen Childs’ composition “Still Life.” We analyzed the piece into 11 sections and created algorithmic video triggered by sound and motion to match each of the 11 sections. The video was projected…

  • Ghost in the Machine

    Originally conceived in 2008, Ghost in the Machine (GITM) consists of a webcam and display which mixes and crossfades events in realtime with motion-activated video it has recorded previously. It continually shifts between 3 states: individual, community, and the world. GITM has been shown in many venues and contexts.

  • TechArtICT: Whispering Woodlands

    Whispering Woodlands was an outdoor installation created by TechArtICT. It was installed at Exploration Place in Wichita, Kansas from November 2023 through January 2024. The work featured 24 independently controlled sets of speakers and LEDs, all synchronized to create an immersive sound and lightscape. Using eclectic audio ranging from thunder and rain to spaceships and…