Chozumaki

source: aecat
Von der Galaxie bis zu den Elektronen: Im Universum existieren unzählige Wirbel. Von ihrer fraktalen Struktur als Grundelement ist auch CHOZUMAKI von Nelo Akamatsu inspiriert. Die schlichten Bestandteile: ein Glasbehälter, der mit Wasser gefüllt ist. Dazu ein kleiner Magnet, der am Boden des Gefäßes rotiert und Wirbelbewegungen erzeugt. Die winzigen Blasen verursachen Geräusche, wenn sie vom Strudel verschluckt werden. Die Zusehenden können die Klänge durch ein Spiralhorn, das die Form einer Schnecke hat, hören. Indem sich die Form der Wirbel ständig wandelt, verändert sich auch der Klang.
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source: aecat
CHOZUMAKI by Nelo Akamatsu consists of a glass vessel filled with water. A small winged magnet rotating at the bottom of the vessel produces a vortex. The tiny bubbles cause curious sounds when they are swallowed into the vortex. Viewers will hear these sounds through a spiral pipe shaped like a cochlear duct.
Countless vortices exist in the universe, including the enormous revolution of the galaxy and also the minimal spin of electrons. They all have a fractal structure that seems to be one of the fundamental elements of the universe. Water has another important role in this work. In numerous cultures is associated with purification.
The sight and sound of the water vortex that is constantly changing shape will remind viewers of crossing the boundary between the physical world and the psychological world, and will extend their perception of vital organs.
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source: youtube
‘Chijikinkutsu’ is a coinage especially created for the title of this work by combining two Japanese words: ‘chijiki’ and ‘suikinkutsu’. Chijiki means geomagnetism: terrestrial magnetic properties that have always existed and affect everything on Earth, though it cannot be perceived by the human senses. Some scientific research reports that the behavior of migratory birds, as well as the cause of beautiful aurora, are all related to geomagnetism. A ‘suikinkutsu’ is a sound installation for Japanese traditional gardens, invented in the Edo period. The sounds of drops of water falling through an inverted earthenware pot buried under a stone washbasin resonate through hollow bamboo tubes. Since ancient times, the Japanese have been sensitive to perceiving nature as it is, from the sound of the wind through pine trees or singing of insects.
While the artist carefully listened to the profound sound from underground in the garden of his favorite Kyoto temple, he noticed that his work coincidentally sounded similar to the ‘suikinkutsu’. The concept of the work ‘Chijikinkutsu’ is not derived from the experimentalism of science and technology on which media arts rely, nor from architectonic theory of western music on which some sound arts are based. While utilizing the action of geomagnetism, which is normally treated as a subject of science, this sound installation expands the subtle sounds of ‘suikinkutsu’ in the context of the Japanese perspective on nature.
‘Chijikinkutsu’ is made using water, sewing needles, glass tumblers and coils of copper wire. The needles floating on the water in the tumblers are magnetized in advance, so they are affected by geomagnetism and turn themselves in a north-south direction. When electricity is supplied to the coil attached to the outside of the tumblers it creates a temporary magnetic field that draws the needle to the coil. And the faint sound of the needle hitting the glass resonates in the space all around. A MIDI is used to control the system. A DTM sequencer app running on an iPAD sends MIDI data signals to the controllers which were especially designed for the work, and they distribute serial data to each port, switching the electric current to the coils.
A round surface of water in the glass with a floating magnetized needle reminds of a tiny Earth with its geomagnetism. The fainter the sounds of the glass, the more keenly viewers’ sensibility will be sharpened. In the meantime, they realize that the sounds are not coming from outside their bodies, but already exist inside their mind.
The new art work ‘Chozumaki’ consists of a glass vessel filled with water. A small winged magnet rotates and makes a vortex arise at the bottom of the vessel. The tiny bubbles cause curious sounds when they are swallowed into the vortex. Viewers will hear those sounds through the spiral pipe in the shape like a cochlear duct. Countless “Vortexes” exist in the universe, including the enormous revolution of the galaxy and also the minimal spin of electrons. The sight and sound of the water vortex that is always changing its shape will remind viewers of the coming and going over the boundary between the physical world and the psychological world.

‘Chijikinkutsu’ je avtorska skovanka iz dveh japonskih besed: ‘chijiki’ pomeni geomagnetizem in se nanaša na magnetne sile, ki jih človeška čutila ne zaznavajo, vendar vplivajo na vse naravne procese na Zemlji in jih lahko opazujemo s pomočjo kompasa ter določenih pojavov v naravi, kot so selitve ptic ali polarni sij. Drugi del skovanke izhaja iz besede ‘suikinkutsu’, ki je ime za zvočno instalacijo v tradicionalnih japonskih vrtovih iz obdobja Edo. Kaplje vode, ki padajo skozi lončeno posodo, zakopano pod kamnitim umivalnikom, resonirajo skozi votle bambusove cevi. ‘Suikinkutsu’ je bil razvit z občutkom za sprejemanje nevidne lepote narave, ki nas obdaja (npr. zvoka insektov ali vetra v drevesih).
Ko je umetnik prisluškoval podzemnim zvokom na vrtu njegovega priljubljenega templja v Kjotu, je opazil, da njegovo delo naključno zveni podobno kot ‘suikinkutsu’. Čeprav koncept ‘Chijikinkutsu’ ne izhaja iz eksperimentalne znanosti in tehnologije, na katerih sloni medijska umetnost, niti iz teorije zahodne glasbe kot nekatera zvočna umetnost kot jo poznamo, je avtor z uporabo geomagnetizma, ki je običajno predmet znanosti in električnih stikal, ki so običajne tehnološke komponente, ustvaril instalacijo, ki subtilne zvoke tradicionalne inštalacije ‘suikinkutsu’ prestavlja v kontekst medijske umetnosti.
V instalaciji ‘Chijikinkutsu’ magnetizirane jeklene igle v kozarcih lebdijo na vodi, tako da se pod vplivom geomagnetizma obrnejo v smeri sever-jug. Ko elektrika steče skozi tuljevo, pritrjeno na zunanjo stran kozarca, se ustvari magnetno polje, ki pritegne iglo k tuljavi. Sliši se rahel zvok udarca igle ob steklo, ki v sto petdeset kozarcih odzvanja po prostoru. Šibkejši je zvok kozarcev, bolj se ostri obiskovalčeva akuzmatična senzibilnost.