Creating [Symphony of a Mass], we connected a pulse sensor to an Arduino Uno, where readings of pulse waves are scaled to the speed of a DC motor, which drives a fan. Serial readings are also sent to MaxMSP, creating a MIDI interface that communicates with Ableton to create sound. The physical installation consists of five photocell synthesizers hung on a ceiling, along with the pulse-controlled fan in front of a spotlight. The oscillations from the photocell synthesizers are sent to Ableton, and then sent to multichannel speakers. As pulse readings control the fan motor speed, light is blocked from the photocell synthesizers. Played beside the sounds from pulse readings, the oscillations continuously fluctuate, harmonize, and clash.
