building is about composing
translated with Goggle traduction
like a sonata: Ludwig Van’s Ear
In 1981 I dedicated my attempt at silent music to Beethoven; as a tribute to his overcome deafness.
“Ludwig Van’s Ear” is physically constructed like a sonata and programmed in three movements.
Physically constructed because the metal lines create three patterns, three shapes. A central star with sharp branches. A ribbed surface that escapes from the mirror. Finally a transparent spiral that gives its unity to the whole.
Each shape of the Ear is animated by a group of logic circuits. The three rhythms of light are independent. They respond to each other… in silence.
three shapes and three movements for The Ear of Ludwig Van
composing with bits of calculators.
In 1981, there is no computer in “The Ear of Ludwig Van”. I use wired logic. Each little black dot in the sculpture is a circuit that performs a simple operation. These are logic integrated circuits. Here an oscillator gives the rhythm to a divider placed a little further away. A third component will add the numbers; but it acts under certain conditions, which are given by a fourth integrated circuit…
Abondance - 2001
You can clearly see that I am not writing a program. In the 80s, for me, it is more concrete; it is downright tactile. By manipulating the small components, I have the sensation of touching the 0s and 1s. My work is like knitting: I weave a harmonic structure of fine wires with my soldering iron. And I have an incredible number of possibilities. The chips are capable of calculating random numbers. Although according to some well-informed people, this chance remains too approximate.
dimension 5 - 2003
The functions of the components are listed in a kind of little bible that I keep handy. It is the 1978 Motorola catalog of 766 pages.
Composing the light “in hard” saves me from placing a big ugly PC under the tables of art galleries and living rooms. My pieces weigh only a few grams. Important detail for me: the showcases that protect them have a mirror and it is not for decoration. The mirror reflects the sixth side. The side hidden by the base of traditional sculptures.
graine de Saturne - 2007
La Boule was well closed and its mechanisms invisible. On the contrary, the shape of the Luchrone is given by its operation. I imagine the appearance of the sculpture from the components, except for urban works where the shape is freed from electronics that have become invisible. No problem since monuments can hide a classic computer in the inevitable base.
My friend Xavier Delahodde is an electronics magician. He often accompanies me by car to Bourges, Argelès or Reims. On the train or in the car we have time to chat… Xavier suggests that I test a new family of chips he has heard about. These are microcontrollers, not bigger, but capable of reading a program on a small card, like a phone memory.
This changes everything: the monumental Luchrones and the workshop pieces will be able to play the same score. in town or on the table, a code will have no physical dimensions.