The City University of New York
250 Bedford Park Boulevard West
Christopher Janney
Sonic Pass Blue, 1999
installation with colored glass, photoelectric sensors, and polyphonic
sound sampler, 100' long
Academic Computer Center
Dormitory Authority, State of New York
Sonic Pass Blue is an interactive light and sound installation in the main corridor of the campus computer center. It serves as a connection between classrooms, computer laboratories, and the office areas and is in a heavily traversed area. The corridor has eight photoelectric sensors, eight speakers and a polyphonic sound sampler built into the walls. Passing through the corridor, movement is picked up by each of the sensors and translated into melodic sounds suggesting birds, crickets, and other sounds from nature as well as the sound of musical instruments. The artist has turned the geometry of the corridor into a soft illuminated sphere of light with yellow and blue windows. On leaving the corridor, the eye reacts to the yellow and blue tones, making the outside world appear rose colored for a few seconds.
