The Guitar Sculpture

Acoustic guitars, infra-red distance sensors, led strips, speakers, Arduino, max/MSP

This sculptural installation invited audiences to activate and mix musical elements of my songs, triggering each guitar and their associated sounds through movement sensors. It utilised the open source Arduino microcontroller in conjunction with Max/MSP software to control the interactivity.

The interactive sculpture, initially entitled The Honest Time, was created for my Masters degree show at University of Brighton. The title was based on a song I wrote and which the musical elements of the installation was based upon. The concept was to build an interactive artwork that engaged listeners physically and socially, the antithesis of listening via contemporary standardised streaming platforms.

The plinth version was then developed into a wall version for a solo show at PS2 Gallery Belfast. The wall arrangement of the Guitar Sculpture offered elements of an alternative sonic composition entitled New Wave, allowing the audience to perform and mix layers of the song through triggering the guitars and their associated tracks.

Collecting broken guitars, I played with how they looked, taking them apart, breaking them, sanding them and putting them back together. Deconstructing and reconstructing them creates an interesting aesthetic that keeps the familiarity of the instrument and is in keeping with the concept of re-thinking how a familiar instrument can be ‘played’. The placing of the guitars was based on old sketches and the title, The Honest Time, is adapted from the title of a song I wrote which the ambient composition is based upon.

As a musician and guitarist, the guitar was a obvious personal choice as an aesthetic starting point for the sculpture. Beyond envisioning light emanating from the centre hole of the guitar when activated, I had little idea of the overall design of the work, allowing for development whilst I working on the technological aspect of the sculpture. Inspiration came from Picasso’s guitars and Trimpin’s guitar sculpture.

The five guitars each house a speaker, LED’s and a distance sensor. The wires connect down through the plinth connecting to the arduino and computer. There are extra speakers housed within the plinth incase of louder sound needed on the private view. Approaching a guitar will activate a layer of music allocated to it. The sounds are played through all speakers. This enables all layers to be heard easily by all people surrounding the sculpture.