A 2D pendulum hangs over an array of magnets which compete for its attraction. The system is inherently chaotic - once set in motion, the pendulum traces out a unique and unpredictable trajectory through phase space. The resulting magnetic field is sampled, and sonified in real time, creating music from chaos.

Strange Attractor was designed for Curious Sound Objects III: The Space Between. This was my first kinetic art piece, and getting the motion right was an interesting challenge. The gimbal at the top was custom-made using PVC pipe and skateboard bearings. To sample the magnetic field, 8 Hall effect sensors are seated in the center of the magnet. Principal components analysis is used to decompose the magnetic signals into a 4-dimensional phase space, which is then used to trigger and process vocal samples.

In the fall of 2015, Strange Attractor was part of a 6-week installation at CyberArts.

At Aeronaut Brewery for CSO III. Image courtesy of curioussoundobjects.com

At Aeronaut Brewery for CSO III. Image courtesy of curioussoundobjects.com