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Kinetic Art: A Programmed and a Sound-Controlled Flashing-Light Installation Author(s): Thorbjrn Lausten Reviewed work(s): Source: Leonardo, Vol. 9, No. 3 (Summer, 1976), pp. 224-225 Published by: The MIT Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1573562 . Accessed: 08/02/2012 15:08
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Fig. 1. Viewof the installationof'Flux Field, 1974', kinetic electric light art, in the Aarhus KunstbygningGallery, Aarhus, Denmark, 1974.
I -! Fig. 2. Viewof lamps and timers used in the installationof 'Flux Field, 1974'.
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Fig. 4. Viewof the components the electricsystemfor the of installation'White Sound, 1975'. lamps and the intensity of the sound output in the three frequency ranges. They are mainly intrigued by the technological feat accomplished, since they are not accustomed to obtaining aesthetic satisfaction from this kind of audio-visual experience. The experience does give me aesthetic satisfaction and I watch the flashing array of lights for several minutes at a time and try to recognize correlations with the radio sound output. References 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. F. J. Malina, ed. Kinetic Art: Theory and PracticeSelections from the Journal Leonardo (New York: Dover, 1974). F. J. Malina, ElectricLight as a Medium in the Visual Fine Arts: A Memoir, Leonardo8, 109 (1975). J. Burnham, The Structureof Art (New York: Braziller, 1971). A. Moles, Information Theoryand AestheticPerception (Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 1968). D. Bohm, Causality and Chance in Modern Physics (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1967).
Fig. 3. View of the installation of 'White Sound, 1975', kinetic electric light art, in the studio of the author. (Fig. 4): (1) AM/FM radio, (2) amplifier, (3) three frequency filters of the amplified radio output (one for the range from 0 to 1,000 Hz, one from 800 to 12,000 Hz and one from 8,000 to 20,000 Hz), (4) an amplifier and noise filter for each frequency range and (5) three TRIAC electronic components, which provided to the lamps varying voltages up 220V as the volume or intensity of the sound input of a frequency range varied. The electronic circuit and components were designed and constructed by the Danish engineer Jorgen Nielsen. The two lamps closest to the floor responded to the lowest frequency range, the next two to the middle range and the two closest to the ceiling to the highest range. Viewers generally when hearing the output of the radio do not notice a correlation between the varying intensity of illumination provided by the three sets of