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Inventor Craig Colorusso and his wonderous Sun Boxes. |
It's the ultimate sound installation.
Wed the power of the sun to music al fresco and you have the Sun Box. Ingenious.
You can listen to the interview, which I approached as if we are in the sound installation, or read this from his website:
"It's comprised of 20 speakers, operating independently, each powered by the sun via solar panels. Inside each Sun Box is a PC board that has a recorded guitar note loaded and programmed to play continuously in a loop. These guitar notes collectively make a Bb chord. Because the loops are different in length, once the piece begins they continually overlap and the piece slowly evolves over time.
The obvious connection with the weather is the sun. Since there are no batteries involved with Sun Boxes, the piece is totally reliant on direct sun light. The sun also adds a volume variable: more sun means more power which means more volume. This variable can sometimes involve clouds. If clouds cover the sun, they can either cause Sun Boxes to lower in volume or turn off altogether. Sun Boxes is a system that improvises with Mother Nature."
Craig Colorusso interview with Sun Box music and ambient sounds.
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Sun Boxes are not merely mechanically passive, but interact with their environment. |