Optimo! is an interactive installation based on the concept of musicianship in Balinese gamelan. In gamelan, all of the instruments belong to the community as a whole and no one person has ownership over any one instrument. The pieces played are conducted, but the conductor's job is to just moderate the organically unfolding improvisations that take place between the performers. In this installation, the conductor has been further removed from the composition and has been replaced by programmed electro-mechanical machines, in essence, robots, reacting to human participation and improvisation.
Optimo! is meant to be played by two to four people. One person realizes that he cannot reach all of the four objects by himself to reveal four rhythms activated by moving one's hands in front of the sensors. The idea is that one person interacting with robots will look gesturally like a robot. With more people controlling the sensors, an interesting rhythm organically develops and sometimes dancing takes place. |