Colour Tubes

Watch a video demonstrating “Colour Tubes” installation.

Description:

“Colour Tubes” is an interactive installation that allows us to combine colours, in the form of tubes and cylinders, and create sounds and music. The visitor is invited to connect any coloured tube with any coloured cylinder and move it in front of the screen. When different colours are combined, sound, music and visuals are generated depending on various parameters like the colour combination, the position or the speed of the bicolor tube-cylinder. The visitors are welcome to trigger the installation using any coloured object like their own clothes.

Single colours cannot waken the installation and produce music. In this way, the participant can experiment with the diversity and the effect of composing differing elements and qualities in order to generate various results. This dualism also exists in the basic music scale that is used throughout the installation; a combination of C# major and G major (inspired by Richard Strauss’s opening theme of Salome opera) transposed in many keys, highlighting the need for combining different musical elements as well.

“Colour Tubes” is created in C++ using Cinder and OpenCV library. The audio part is designed and generated in Pure Data. Pure Data communicates with the main software in real time via OSC protocol.

Festivals & Exhibitions:

• Energy for Life, Athens, Greece (December 07, 2015)
• International Computer Music Association and Sound & Music Computing 2014 Conference, Athens, Greece (September 14, 2014)

ICMC|SMC|2014 Conference

“Colour Tubes” was presented at Onasis Cultural Center during the International Computer Music Association and Sound & Music Computing 2014 Joint Conference at Athens, Greece.

SGT-ColourTubes-2014_09_14_2550 — “Colour Tubes” at Onasis Cultural Center during the International Computer Music Association and Sound & Music Computing 2014 Joint Conference.

"Colour Tubes" at Onasis Caltural Center International Computer Music Association and Sound & Music Computing 2014 Joint Conference at Athens, Greece from September 14-20. — “Colour Tubes” at Onasis Cultural Center.

SGT-ColourTubes-2014_09_14_2567 — “Colour Tubes” at Onasis Cultural Center.

Energy for Life

Colour Tubes installation is presented to children as part of the “Energy for Life” is an environmental awareness program, that calls on fifteen remote destinations, spreading ideas, thoughts and insights of ecological interest to students as well as to the inhabitants of the places it visits.

Sound & Visuals:

Clarinet opening part from Richard Strauss's opera Salome (Alex Ross: "Rest Is Noise Audio Guide") — Clarinet opening part from Richard Strauss’s opera Salome (Alex Ross: “Rest Is Noise Audio Guide“)

Throughout the installation; a combination of C# major and G major (inspired by Richard Strauss’s opening theme of Salome opera) is used transposed in many keys, highlighting the need for combining different musical elements as well.

Brief City (1952, British Government Public Information Films)

Part of the film “Brief City” is used in the installation. The film is part of the British Government Public Information Films and is a retrospective view of the 1951 Festival of Britain on the South Bank with special reference to design and architecture.