Theatre of Vibrations
Jan - May 2024
Branding, Exhibition, Event
Credits
Team: Aidan Andrews, Carolline Kremer, Caitlin Morey
Theatre of Vibrations is a process-focused studio emphasizing creative production methodologies, interdisciplinary team work, community engagement, and the public presentation of experimental immersive art and design activations.
My Role
Working in a cross-disciplinary team of 4, we designed an interactive musical instrument/sculpture: “The Bikestrument”. I also assisted in designing the overall identity and experience of the event, including posters and audio-reactive animations.
Studio Journey
The mission of the studio was to reactivate underutilized spaces in local communities. This led to us repurposing an abandoned theater in downtown Ottumwa, Iowa to host our instruments, open to the public for attendees to come and play with our creations.
Our studio journey took us across many different sounds, instruments, and places. Working in with AK Studio and Iowa State, we traveled to Los Angeles to prototype instruments made of upcycled materials, and record their sounds in a professional music studio.
“upcycling” literally by salvaging real abandoned bikes to create a sustainable instrument.
We chose bicycles as our instrument theme for a number of reasons: the mechanical beauty of the objects, the cultural significance of biking in Iowa, and the upcoming RAGBRAI (Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa) summer event.
Wired with contact microphones in the steel chamber, feeding to an amp with guitar pedals, the sound The Bikestrument makes is an ambient etheral soundscape. Activated by cranking the pedal with a fitted handle, and utilizing the handlebars as a bow that glides across a set of cello strings. The strings can be further fretted or plucked, creating an adjustable sound that can evolve over time.