Untitled, 3x3 Inches
Josh Nimoy, 2004
Circuitry + Wood

As an artist, I produce systemic metaphors in order to help me understand myself and the world around me. In this piece, I attempt to connect the dissonant & consonant rhythms in a calendar to the dissonant & consonant rhythms of sound. In musicology, dissonant chords are explained to "beat" more than consonant chords. The combined sine-waves that make up such dissonant noise are out of phase with each other such that a human ear can pick up whenever they cross. A smoother, consonant sound is made through rhythmic consistency - smaller and more predictable phases. Because I have a working routine in New York City, I must keep a calendar of events. I usually organize my major cycles by month, with weekly carriage returns. When I have an isolated few events in my time schedule, the sound wave "beats" more. If I leave no events, or if I fill the entire calendar with events, the sound becomes smoother and more consonant. This art object has a sound wave granular synthesis mechanism, visualized in this calendar style by 35 pixels. When the playback head reaches the end of the month, a new month begins. To interact with the object, abruptly wave your hand in front of the light sensor over a period of a minute. The sensor responds to fast change of brightness. Flipping the room light on and off also works.

Installation and Maintenance

Installation
The piece can be hung from the wall with power cable either hung from bottom, hidden through wall-hole. The power cable is not an integral part of the art, and is best left out of sight. The piece can also be situated on a surface, either facing forward, or facing upwards.

International
The DC adapter provided with this piece will work in the US (110vac @ 60Hz) but it will also work in countries that have 220vac @ 50Hz. The installer must first twist the yellow knob with a flat head screwdriver from the "AC110V" setting to the "AC220V" setting.

Disabling the Sound
Unscrew the back of the frame and find the white, flat disc - a piezo buzzer glued to the top inside wooden edge. Use scissors to cut either the red or the black wire. Replace the cover with screws.

Replacing Power Supply
To disconnect the power supply from the piece, one must unscrew the back, and find the blue double-screw-terminal. With a small flat-head screw driver, loosen the terminals and free the power cable. Any new power supply needs to provide the circuit with +5volts DC