For his artwork The Cosmic Dust Spider Web Orchestra, Tomás Saraceno commissioned THE SOUND OF THE MOUNTAIN to spatially augment and translate optically detected dust particles into sound sources projected onto 32 loudspeakers. The sound waves thus produced set a living spider's web into vibrations, contributing to the sonic landscape. The interactive real-time rendering projected 128 sound sources onto 32 loudspeakers using the MNTN Spatial Sound System. The positioning of each of the sound sources was derived from a 3D camera detecting dust particles floating in a light beam. The spatial detection of individual dust particles was then used to translate positions into locations and movements of sound sources in the three-dimensional exhibition space.

In the installation, visitors find themselves as part of a musical ensemble. A light beam makes cosmic dust visible in a dimly-lit room, caught floating in the air above a set of loudspeakers. As people wander through the gallery, their own actions become audible through the movement of the dust. This activity is captured on video in 3D and amplified by 32 loudspeakers spread across the gallery space. Each particle resonates to a different tone, and each tone is multiplied into waves. This low-frequency collective composition vibrates in the living spider's web. The interplay between the sounds produced from the web's vibrations, the cosmic dust floating in the air, and the visitors' movement creates a sonic landscape—a jam session of human and non-human agents.

Client: Studio Tomás Saraceno
Exhibition: Museo Moderno, Buenos Aires
Gallery: Esther Schipper