A Curious Cinema: Resonance
A Curious Cinema: Resonance
Every object has an affinity for certain frequencies of sound. When we feed an object the right tones, it resonates in the most beautiful ways, revealing an intricate variety of patterns that are usuallyhidden from sight. The study of these patterns is called Cymatics, and in this workshop we’ll play with various instruments that will reveal these patterns to our eyes.
We’ll be led by artist Meara O’Reilly, who will introduce us to an exhibit currently in development for debut at the Exploratorium this spring. Her instrument, a unique variation of something called a Chladni plate, allows us to use our voices to sing a sheet of metal to life. When the metal is covered in a particulate such as salt, resonant patterns form and change with the pitch and timbre of our voices. We’ll alsoexplore how to make a range of simple and delightful devices using common objects to explore the intersection of sound and matter, including an oobleck resonator that turns water and corn syrup into a tiny writhing beast. Special guest John Benson will help us elicit the resonant properties of milk, and show us how to draw sound using a harmonograph.
A simple hot vegetarian meal with resonant properties will be served with screenings of two short documentary films:
- selections from “Cymatics”
Hans Jenny, 1960, 16mm, color.
Swiss scientist Hans Jenny, innovator of the science of Cymatics,
trains his camera on a variety of experiments in resonating
particles and fluids The film is saturated with dramatic 60′s color
and features a voiceover narrative by Jenny himself, asking us to
consider sound as the progenitor of all life in the universe.
- “The Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse”
Barney Elliot, 1940, 16mm, color.
On November 7th, 1940, a 3000-ft. suspension bridge in Washingtonbegan to undulate wildly. The winds across Puget Sound caused the bridge to resonate at just the right frequency to tear itself apart.The owner of a local camera shop was there to capture the event on 16mm Kodachrome.
